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University  of  California. 

GIKT   OK 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

KcceivCif  October,  i8g4. 
^Accessions  No.' J^ ^C^  ^7.      Class  No. 


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.   &  SCRIBNEE  . 


THE 


POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT ; 


OR 


THOUGHTS  ADDRESSED  TO  CHRISTIAN  MINISTERS 


THOSE    WHO    HEAR    THEM. 


BY   GARDINER   SPRING,   D.D. 

PASTOR   OF   THE    BRICK   PRESBYTEKIAN    CHURCH,    NEW   YORK. 


"  It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe." 


NEW  YORK: 
BAKER  AND  SCRIBNER, 

36  PARK  ROW  AND  145  NASSAU  STREET. 
1848. 


3  yjfi.// 


s.  W^N^S.-s 


^"S.^v — "v^^^N 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  iu  the  year  ld48,  by 

BAKER    &    S  C  K I B \ E  R  , 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


u 


^<F 


z^^/ 


TBOMAB    S.    SMITH,    8TERE0TYPER, 
216  WILLIAM  STREET,  N.  Y. 


S.  \v.  BENEDICT,  PRINTER, 
16  SPRUCE    STREET. 


DEDICATION. 


If  his  own  days  of  active  service  were  not  so 
rapidly  coming  to  a  close,  the  writer  would  hesitate 
in  again  obtruding  himself  upon  the  notice  of  the  re- 
ligious community.  No  governing  thought  more  fre- 
quently recurs  to  his  own  mind  than  that  presented 
in  the  injunction,  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do, 
do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is  no  work,  nor  knowl- 
edge, nor  device  in  the  grave  whither  thou  goest." 

As  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  he  will  be 
at  a  great  remove  from  the  sphere  in  which  he  now 
converses,  he  naturally  thinks  of  those  who  are  to 
come  after  him.  And  as  the  descending  sun  often 
quickens  our  pace,  he  confesses  that  he  feels  a  desire 
to  do  something  that  shall  give  him  a  place  in  their 
thoughts,  though  it  be  but  for  a  moment.  He  is  not 
sure  Aat  the  views  he  has  expressed  will  meet  with 
their  approbation.  He  ardently  hopes  that  time,  whose 
instructions  are  clear  and  resistless,  will  show  that,  in 
the  opinions  to  which  he  refers,  he  has  judged  cor- 
rectly. 

It   is   a   wide,  an   enchanting   field  of  labor,  which 


iv  DEDICATION. 

opens  upon  the  youthful  ministry.  Never  was  there 
such  a  work  as  that  to  which  they  are  invited  in  the 
present  age  of  the  world.  A  growing  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  the  work,  itself,  and  a  strong  desire 
thal^  those  who  come  after  him  may  better  fulfil  the 
ends  of  the  sacred  office  than  he  has  done,  have  en- 
couraged him  to  suggest  a  few  plain  thoughts  which 
he  hopes  may  be  profitable  to  his  younger  brethren. 
To  them  this  work  is  respectfully  dedicated,  by  their 
affectionate  fellow-servant, 

THE  AUTHOR. 

New  York,  April,  1848. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAOE 

THE    PULPIT    HAS    POWER, 7 

CHAPTER   II. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED,  ....  23 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED,  ....  32 

CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED,  ....  47 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED,  ....  61 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    TRUTH    OF    WHICH    THE    PULPIT    IS    THE    VEHICLE,      .  71 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    LIVING    TEACHER, 


96 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY,  122 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    PULPIT    ASSOCIATED    WITH    THE    POWER    OF    GOD,       .  146 

CHAPTER   X. 

THE    GREAT    OBJECT    OF    PREACHING,       ....  163 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE,         .  .  .  .  .  .182 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII.  P^OB 

EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT,      .     .    210 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    preacher's    INTEREST    IN    HIS    IMMEDIATE    SUBJECT,  242 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MINISTERS    MUST    BE    MEN    OF    PRAYER,  .  .  .  261 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    PERSONAL    PIETY    OF    MINISTERS,  .  .  .         275 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    EXAMPLE    OF    MINISTERS,         .....  293 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    RESPONSIBILITY    OF    MINISTERS,        .  .  .  .314 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A    COMPETENT    MINISTRY    TO    BE    PROCURED,  .  .  328 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MINISTRY    COMPARED    WITH    OTHER    PROFESSIONS,  .  337 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    FITTING    EDUCATION    FOR    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY,  368 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE    PECUNIARY    SUPPORT    OF    MINISTERS,  .  .  .  393 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

PRAYER    FOR    MINISTERS,        .  .  .  .  .  .418 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    CONSIDERATION    DUE    TO    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY,  429 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    RESPONSIBILITY    OF    ENJOYING    THE    CHRISTIAN    MIN- 
ISTRY, ........        442 


THE   POWER   OF   THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FACT    ILLUSTRATED,  THAT    THE    PULPIT    HAS    POWER. 

It  may  not  be  deemed  the  most  modest 
service  in  one  who  ministers  at  the  altar,  to 
select  as  the  topic  of  somewhat  discursive  re- 
mark, The  Power  of  tlie  Christian  Pidjnt.  "  Let 
another  man  praise  thee,  and  not  thine  own 
mouth ;  a  stranger,  and  not  thine  own  lips." 
The  light  of  the  pulpit  ought  so  to  shine  be- 
fore men,  as  to  need  no  other  commendation, 
save  its  strong  and  steady  radiance. 

Yet  it  was  not  egotism  in  Paul,  to  "  magnify 
his  office."  The  work  of  the  Christian  Min- 
istry is  one  which  possesses  strong  pecviliari- 
ties,  and  one  which  has  strong  claims.  There 
is  nothing  that  resembles  it  in  the  ordinary 
employments  of  men.  While  it  has  its  full 
share  of  toil,  it  has  solicitudes  and  discourage- 
ments, dependencies  and  disabilities,  that  are 
peculiarly  its  own.  It  has  too  its  successes,  its 
expectations,   its  honors  and   its  rewards.     It 


S  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

knows   its   own   bitterness,   and   ''  a    stranger 
does  not  intermeddle  with  its  joy." 

For  the  purpose  of  presenting  our  subject 
in  as  practical  a  light  as  I  am  able,  I  propose 
to  advert  to  the  fact  itself  that  the  pulpit  has 
power ;  to  show  what  are  the  constituent  ele- 
ments which  invest  it  ivith  this  moral  influence  ; 
to  point  out  the  duties  of  ministers  themselves  in 
order  to  malxc  full  'proof  of  the  power  with  which 
it  is  invested;  and  to  specify  the  ohligations 
which  rest  on  the  church  of  God  to  give  it  its  due 
place  and  importance.  It  is  to  the  first  of  these 
thoughts  that  we  shall  devote  the  first  three 
chapters, — the  fact  itself  that  the  pulpit  has 
power. 

Our  first  remark,  on  this  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject, is,  that  the  institution  of  such  an  order 
as  religious  teachers  is  deeply  imbedded  in  the 
common  principles,  and  common  wants  of  man,  as 
fallen  by  his  iniquity.  Such  is  his  intellectual 
and  moral  nature,  that  he  imperatively  demands 
religious  teaching.  The  necessity  is  perfectly 
absolute.  Teachers  of  religion  are  indispensa- 
hle  to  the  existence  of  religion  in  the  world. 
No  matter  what  the  religion  is;  so  long  as  nat- 
ural conscience  has  a  dwelling  in  the  human  bos- 
om, there  must  be  a  class  of  men  devoted  to 
its  services.  So  far  as  my  information  extends, 
there  is  no  nation,  nor  tribe,  nor  any  age  of  the 
world,  that  ever  has  been  utterly  destitute  of 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    PULPIT.  9 

an  order  of  men  separated  to  sacred  purposes. 
Paganism,  in  its  more  degraded,  as  well  as  its 
more  enlightened  and  polished  forms,  down  to 
the  "  Medicine  man  "  of  our  own  wilderness, 
has  its  shrines,  its  oficrings,  its  sacrifices,  and 
its  priests.  If  man  is  not  a  religious,  he  is  a 
superstitious  heing.  In  the  most  degenerate 
tribes,  the  priests  have  been  found  even  divided 
into  different  and  distinct  orders,  and  distin- 
guished by  their  costume,  as  they  have  been 
simple  soothsayers,  or  astrologers,  or  familiar 
with  the  arts  of  magic. 

The  Sacred  Order  constitutes  one  of  the 
essential  elements  of  the  social  state.  Soci- 
ety can  no  more  exist  without  it,  than  without 
some  form  of  civil  government.  Men  must 
have  some  religious  ritual ;  the  form  must  ex- 
ist, where  the  reality  is  dead  ;  and  even  where 
the  reality  itself  is  death,  there  must  be  a  rit- 
ual to  preserve  the  death-like  reality.  All  re- 
ligion is,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  religion  of 
form  ;  even  that  revealed  from  Heaven  is  so  far 
a  religion  of  form,  that  its  spirit  is  expressed  in 
outward  and  instituted  observances.  Men  will 
not  consent  to  occupy  a  place  in  associated 
communities  without  the  recognized  dispensers 
of  these  religious  rites.  Conscience  demands 
them  for  the  living  and  the  dead.  Be  it  but 
necromancy,  or  some  strange  form  of  "black 
art"  conjuration;   the  mother  demands  them 


10  THE   POWER   OF   THE    PULPIT. 

for  her  new-born  child,  and  the  child  demands 
them  at  the  obsequies  of  its  parent.  There  is 
no  stoicism,  no  sullen  apathy,  so  strongly  in- 
trenched within  its  philosophic  indifference, 
but  that  it  is  sometimes  bathed  in  tears.  Hu- 
man wisdom  never  erects  her  temple  so  high 
as  to  be  above  the  tempest.  A  voice  that  is 
oracular  must  speak  to  men  in  the  day  of  their 
calamity,  even  though  the  oracle  be  unheeded 
in  the  elevation  of  their  pride.  A  hand  that  is 
allied  to  what  is  unseen  and  unearthly  is  looked 
for  to  wipe  away  the  tears  from  the  face  of  sor- 
roAV,  even  though  it  be  unsought  amid  the  sun- 
shine of  joy. 

This  voice  of  nature  is  strong — in  this  respect 
is  stronger  than  the  "  strong  man  armed."  The 
infidel  Hume  was  no  friend  to  the  pulpit,  yet 
has  he  left  the  lesson  to  the  world,  "  Look  out 
for  a  people  entirely  void  of  religion ;  and  if  you 
find  them  at  all,  be  assured  they  are  but  few 
degrees  removed  from  thjB  brutes."  Infidelity 
itself  could  not  live  without  religion.  Were 
every  class  and  order  of  religious  teachers  now 
abolished,  and  every  man  of  them  exiled  from 
the  earth,  not  only,  in  some  form  or  other, 
would  the  office  be  resuscitated  and  restored, 
but  their  most  violent  opposers  would  be  clam- 
orous for  their  restoration. 

And  what  are  these  but  indications  tliat  the 
institution  of  such  a  class  of  men  as  religious 


THE   POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT.  H 

teachers  has  its  foundations  too  deeply  laid  in 
the  nature  of  man  ever  to  he  powerless  ?  If  it 
has  power  where  its  only  aliment  is  the  gross- 
est darkness,  and  the  most  degrading  supersti- 
tion, it  is  no  arrogance  to  say,  that  power  be- 
longs to  it  where  it  is  nurtured  by  God's  truth. 
If  it  has  power  because  man  wills  it,  it  is  not 
too  much  to  affirm,  that  it  has  power  because 
God  Avills  it,  and  it  rests  upon  his  authority. 
If  conscience  demands  it,  and  it  is  created  by 
the  wants  of  man,  then  in  its  best  and  truest 
form,  is  it  no  institution  of  mere  arbitrary  ap- 
pointment, but  one  which  abundantly  indicates 
the  wisdom  and  bene  violence  of  its  Divine  Au- 
thor. 

But  we  pass  from  these  regions  of  mere  The- 
ism and  pagan  darkness,  instructive  as  they  are. 
There  is  a  negative  influence  which  the  pulpit 
exerts,  which  is  not  always  appreciated.  The 
importance  of  suppresnng  the  vicious  habits  of 
men  can  be  estimated  only  by  the  intrinsic 
turpitude  of  their  vices,  and  the  devastation  and 
ruin  which  they  spread  over  the  world.  It 
were  no  easy  matter  to  calculate  the  vast  sum 
of  wretchedness  suppressed,  and  misery  pre- 
vented, by  the  influence  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a 
thought  of  some  interest,  that  the  well  springs 
of  overt  and  public  iniquity  are  broken  up  just 
in  the  measure  in  which  the  pulpit  has  power 
over  the  minds  of  men.     So  absolutely  is  it  at 


12  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

war  witli  immorality  and  vice,  that  the  vicious 
and  immoral  almost  uniformly  shun  its  instruc- 
tion. Such  persons  are  rarely  found  in  the 
house  of  God,  The  atmosphere  is  one  they  can- 
not live  in ;  and  the  honest,  faithful  preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  to  his  honor  be  it  spoken,  one 
whose  presence  and  influence  they  cannot 
abide.  Plant  a  pulpit  in  the  hot-bed  of  crime, 
and  the  atmosphere  becomes  gradually  more 
pure ;  the  fearful  activity  of  wickedness  is  re- 
strained, and  low  vices  and  black  crime  skulk 
away,  and  seek  a  shadow  under  some  deadly 
Upas,  rather  than  regale  themselves  beneath 
the  Tree  of  Life.  Men  are  not  found  worship- 
ping a  golden  image,  or  a  block  of  marble,  or  a 
crawling  reptile,  in  lands  where  the  Christian 
pulpit  has  a  place.  Those  depraved  passions 
and  stupid  and  degraded  vices,  everywhere  the 
attendants  on  the  debasing  sytems  of  idolatry, 
prevail  only  in  lands  where  this  divine  institu- 
tion is  not  kno\^  n,  or  where  it  just  begins  to 
be  recognized.  If  the  land  in  which  we  dwell 
is  not  as  debased  as  ancient  Egypt,  or  Phenicia, 
or  Babylon,  or  modern  India,  and  if  our  sacred 
rites  are  not  such  as  to  shock  every  mind  that 
is  touched  with  the  least  sense  of  decency  and 
virtue;  it  is  because  the  pulpit  guards  it  by 
purer  influences.  Go  to  lands  where  there  are 
no  pulpits,  or  to  those  portions  of  the  world 
where  they  are  "  few  and  far  between/'  and 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    PULPIT.  13 

what  do  you  hear,  if  not  the  most  awful  profa- 
nation of  the  name  of  the  great  God,  even  from 
the  lips  of  lisping  childhood  and  hoary  age  ?  and 
what  do  you  see,  if  not  the  most  mournful  des- 
ecration of  that  Day  of  rest  which  the  King  of 
the  universe  claims  for  his  own ;  which  the  God 
of  life  has  given  for  the  physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral  benefit  of  man ;  and  without  which 
no  hounds  can  he  found  that  set  a  limit  to  the 
grossest  ignorance  and  the  grossest  crimes  ? 
Who  can  tell  the  amount  of  wickedness  which 
would  be  found  in  the  various  relations  of  hu- 
man life,  if  the  strong  bonds  of  social  organiza- 
tion were  not  inwoven  with  the  uttered  truths 
of  God,  and  watched  over  and  fortified  by  his 
ministers  ?  Where  would  be  the  subordination 
of  subjects  to  rulers,  of  children  to  their  pa- 
rents ?  and  what  would  become  of  those  ties  of 
affection  and  delicacy  Avhich  now  bind  so  many 
thousand  hearts,  and  which  keep  Christian 
lands  from  presenting  the  most  dreadful  scenes 
of  anarchy  and  confusion,  of  contention  and 
hatred  ?  How  many  terrible  convulsions  has 
the  warning  voice  of  the  pulpit  suppressed  or 
restrained  ?  Men  would  be  well  nigh  fiends 
without  it ;  spectacles  of  horror  would  be 
spread  around  them  ;  "  their  hand  would  be 
against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand  against 
them ;"  the  sword  would  be  bathed  in  blood, 
and  their  history  would  be  written  in  "  mourii- 


14  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

ing,  lamentation,  and  woe."  And  has  the  pul- 
pit checked  no  licentiousness,  imposed  no  re- 
striction upon  dissoluteness  and  profliaacy  of 
manners,  prevented  no  libertinism,  and  kept  no 
unhappy  female,  and  no  reckless  man,  from 
going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  ?  Has  it 
set  no  bounds  to  idleness  and  prodigality,  to 
iniquity,  dishonesty,  and  fraud,  to  plunder  and 
pillage  ?  Has  it  not  done  more  to  keep  men 
from  this  whole  class  of  crimes  than  all  the 
circumspection  and  vigilance  of  the  civil  law,' 
and  the  strong  arm  of  physical  power  ?  Has 
it  made  no  liar  tremble,  no  slanderer  silent,  no 
revengeful  man  peaceable,  no  deceiver  asham- 
ed, no  compact  sacred,  no  oatli  binding,  no  tri- 
bunal of  justice  more  pure  ?  Has  it  done  noth- 
ing to  repress  that  unhallowed  spirit  of  cov- 
etousness  which  would  gratify  its  insatiable 
cravings  by  wrong-doing;  which  w^ould  corrupt 
magistrates  and  legislators,  and  enrich  itself 
by  trading  in  the  souls  of  men  ?  Has  ambition 
never  cowered  before  it  ?  and  has  it  effected 
no  diminution  in  the  struggles  and  contests,  the 
sufferings  and  sorrows,  of  mankind  ? 

You  may  tell  me  that  this  prevention  and 
diminution  of  crime  and  suffering  are  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  influence  oi  Christianity  ;  but  I 
would  also  have  you  tell  me  what  the  true  in- 
fluence of  Christianity  is  without  the  pulpit. 
Bring  the  case  home,  by  transplanting  yourself 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  '  15 

beyond  the  reach  of  the  pulpit,  for  the  little 
remnant  of  your  own  short  life.  We  cannot 
well  conceive  the  evils  that  are  diminished,  or 
wholly  prevented,  by  this  humble  instrumen- 
tality. Few  know  how  much  they  are,  in  this 
respect,  vmder  obligations  to  the  pulpit.  They 
boast  of  other  influences,  but  overlook  this  sim- 
ple institution  of  heavenly  wisdom.  But  for 
this  sinale  institution,  what  a  world  would  this 
earth  of  ours  have  been !  Blessed  are  the 
people  that  "  know  the  joyful  sound."  Favored 
is  the  man  who  bears  even  nothing  more  than 
the  mark  of  the  pulpit  upon  his  conscience,  ex- 
citing his  fears,  restraining  his  vices,  and  reach- 
ing forth  its  hand  to  keep  him  from  the  gulf  of 
perdition  before  the  time  !  If  his  heart  is  not 
the  veriest  sink  of  pollution,  and  his  history  the 
black  record  of  the  most  loathsome  vices  and 
the  foulest  crimes,  while  he  is  thankful  for 
other  influences,  let  him  lift  his  heart  in  grati- 
tude to  the  "  Father  of  lights,"  that  his  kind 
and  gracious  Providence  has  determined  his 
residence  under  the  droppings  of  the  sanc- 
tuary ! 

But  we  stop  not  with  this  negative  influence 
of  the  pulpit;  it  exerts  a  positive  influence 
which  is  still  more  important,  and  not  less  ob- 
servable. The  Avorld  in  ,which  we  dwell  is 
ignorant  of  God,  and  must  become  acquainted 
with  him  ;  it  is  an  irreligious  world,  and  must 


/ 


16  THE    POWER    OF    THE    PULPIT. 

become  religious;  it  is  an  ungodly  world,  and 
must  become  godly, — like  God,  consecrated  to 
God,  and  rendering  a  sincere  and  habitual  obe- 
dience to  his  will ;  it  is  a  lost  Avorld,  and  must 
become  sanctified  and   saved,   through   God's 
grace,  and  the   redemption   of  his  Son.     Our 
next   thought  therefore  is,  that  the  power  of 
the  pulpit  is  indicated  by  those  immediate  and 
direct  influences,  which  it  exerts  in  producing  and 
sustaining   the   interests  of  truth  and  godliness 
among  men,  and  fitting  them  for  a  higher  and 
nobler  state  of  being.    We  may  not,  at  first  view, 
be  aware  of  the  extent  to  which  these  results 
are  to  be  attributed  to  the  instrumentality  of 
the  pulpit.     The  sober  fact  is,  that  the  history 
of  true  religion  is  substantially  a  history  of  its 
teachers.    Its  free  course  and  peaceful  progress, 
or  its  conflicts  and  low  estate,  are  indicative  of 
a  corresponding  career,  and  an  alternate  eleva- 
tion and  depression  of  those  who  minister  in 
its  sanctuaries.     Its  waxing  and  its  waning,  its 
trials  and  its  triumphs,  its  errors  and  its  truth, 
as  well  as  the  varied  lights  and  shadows  that 
fall  upon  its  path,  are  but  the  varying  phases 
of  the  pulpit,  as  clouds  obscure  it,  or  as  it  is 
darkened  by  an  eclipse,  or  as  the  light  of  it 
breaks  forth  in  noonday  splendor.     Its  course 
has  been  far  from  uniform  ;  while  its  legitimate 
and  immediate  object  is  the  advancement  of 
truth  and  holiness.      Tliis    is    its   appropriate 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  17 

work ;  it  is  God's  cause  in  which  it  is  em- 
barked; and  its  object  and  aim  are  a  radical 
transformation  oi^  tlie  characters  of  men,  and 
the  salvation  of  the  soul. 

God  himself  was  the  first  religious  teacher. 
Never  was  there  such  a  theological  school  as 
that  in  Paradise,  where  the  "  Father  of  lights" 
was  the  instructor,  and  our  first  parents  the 
eaofer  and  docile  listeners.  Never  have  such 
intellectual  endowments  been  since  known 
among  men ;  nor  such  a  resemblance  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  Deity ;  nor  such  rapid  prog- 
ress in  knowledge  and  holiness,  as  during  the 
period  between  their  creation  and  their  apos- 
tasy. 

Among  men,  the  first  religious  teacher  was 
the  first  man.  He  once  enjoyed  unrestrained 
intercourse  with  his  Maker ;  miraculous  aid 
was  imparted  to  him  in  his  intellectual  attain- 
ments ;  and  though  by  his  melancholy  fall  his 
understanding  was  darkened,  and  to  human 
view  he  was  ruined  and  lost,  he  was  still  rational 
and  accountable.  Intellect  no  longer  main- 
tained its  supremacy  ;  reason  did  indeed  totter 
on  her  throne,  and  in  her  fall  carried  with  her 
the  marks  of  her  subjection ;  yet  was  she  rea- 
son still,  though  in  chains  of  darkness.  Our 
first  father  was  the  depository  of  the  first  prom- 
ise ;  a  promise  which  he  could  not  fail  assidu- 
ously to  make  known  to   his   descendants ;    a 


18  THE  POWER  OF   THE  PULPIT. 

promise  whicli  wrapt  ^^■ithill  its  celestial  cov- 
ering tlie  sum  and  substance  of  all  future  reve- 
lations.  To  ^vllat  extent  that  great  promise 
was  understood  in  these  earlier  periods  of  the 
world,  we  are  not  informed;  it  is  enough  for 
us  to  know  that  it  was  the  religious  directory 
of  the  patriarchal  age,  the  great  beacon-light 
on  the  shores  of  this  shipwrecked  world;  the 
torch  of  hea^^en,  held  forth  by  holy  men,  to 
light  succeeding  generations  on  their  way  to 
eternity. 

As  soon  as  men  were  sufficiently  multiplied 
to  form  religious  assemblies,  there  were  ac- 
credited religious  teachers.  Such  was  "  Enoch, 
the  seventh  from  Adam;"  such  was  Noah,  a 
"preacher  of  righteousness;"  and  such  were 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  who  received  di- 
rect communications  from  heaven  for  the  in- 
struction of  their  fellow-men,  and  peculiar 
marks  of  God's  favor,  as  his  faithful  servants. 

Of  the  religious  instruction  and  ritual  of  the 
nations  that  synchronized  with  the  descend- 
ants of  Abraham  before  the  giving  of  the  law, 
we  have  been  able  to  learn  little,  save  what 
may  be  deduced  from  the  institution  of  sacri- 
fices; and  from  the  fact,  that  over  that  vast 
region  of  growing  darkness  there  was  at  least 
one  priest  of  the  Most  High  God,  so  pre-emi- 
nent ill  dignity,  that  he  gave  his  official  bless- 
ing to  Abraham  "  as  the  less  is  blessed  of  the 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  19 

greater;"  and  that  he  is  distinguished  as  the 
prefiguration  of  our  "  Great  High  Priest,  who 
is  passed  into  the  heavens."  If  at  the  calling 
of  Abraham,  the  world  was  "  given  over  to  a 
reprobate  mind,"  it  seems  hardly  probable  that 
there  remained  no  traces  whatever  of  the  true 
religion.  Jetliro,  Moses'  father-in-law,  was  a 
priest  of  Midian,  yet  was  he  a  worshipper  of 
the  true  God,  a  "  light  shining  in  a  dark  place." 
There  was  piety  in  the  Patriarchal  age ;  piety 
of  a  choice  character,  a  piety  that  was  not  sus- 
tained by  written  communications  from  heaven. 
Men  began  early  to  associate,  and  to  "  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  There  were 
those  who  "  walked  with  God,"  like  Enoch. 
There  were  men  of  faith  like  Abel,  and  Noah, 
and  Joseph,  and  those  fathers  of  the  Church 
— a  "  cloud  of  witnesses,"  who,  "  though  not 
having  received  the  promises,  saw  them  afar 
off."  They  were  not  untaught  and  undisci- 
plined men,  but  were  schooled  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  and  furnish,  even  to  subsequent 
and  more  favored  generations,  proofs  of  the 
power  of  religious  teachers  in  a  most  unprom- 
ising age.  "  God  spake  in  times  past  to  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets."  Blind  eyes  were 
opened,  deaf  ears  Avere  unstopped,  and  vassals 
long  enslaved  by  the  prince  of  darkness,  were 
rescued  and  set  free,  as  the  first  fruits  of  the 
early  promise,  and  the  earnest  of  the  harvest 


20  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

which  tliis  barren  earth  was  to  yield  from  this 
spiritual  husbandry. 

The  office  of  the  priesthood  under  the  Jewish 
economy,  formed  no  unimportant  feature  of  that 
wonderful  dispensation.  It  comprised  no  insig- 
nificant part  of  the  nation  itself,  and  received 
for  their  support  one-tenth  of  the  fruits  of  the 
land.  It  was  a  sacred  office  ;  and  any  encroach- 
ment upon  it  was  punished  with  death.  The 
employment  of  the  priests  was  not  only  that  of 
serving  at  the  altar,  and  offering  the  gifts  and 
sacrifices  of  the  people, — an  employment  in 
itself  replete  with  instruction,  and  more  espe- 
cially that  of  the  High  Priest  on  the  great 
day  of  Atonement, — they  conducted  their  de- 
votions, and  were  their  religious  instructors. 
The  'Prophets  constituted  a  distinct  class  of  men, 
both  in  the  Avilderness,  in  Canaan,  and  during 
and  after  the  captivity.  We  know  who  they 
were  ;  and  that  they  were  distinguished  for 
their  piety,  their  faithfulness,  and  their  power 
over  the  minds  of  kings  and  the  people.  Such 
was  the  power  of  both  classes  of  these  religious 
teachers,  that  during  the  entire  history  of  the 
Jewish  church,  the  interests  of  vital  piety  were 
mainly  dependent  on  their  instrumentality. 
With  the  exception  of  those  godly  princes, 
whose  names  live  on  the  page  of  sacred  history, 
no  class  of  men  occupied  so  important  a  station, 


^THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  21 

or  accomplished  so  much  for  the  interests  of 
vital  piety. 

The  office  of  religious  teachers  among  the 
Jews  was  a  noble  office.  Without  them,  the 
Hebrew  state  had  been  an  irreligious,  ignorant, 
disjointed  community.  If  men  w  ere  converted 
to  God;  if,  after  seasons  of  deep  declension, 
the  interests  of  true  relig'ion  were  revived,  and 
Zion,  that  had  been  long  in  mourning,  put  on 
her  beautiful  garments;  and  harps  that  had 
hung  upon  the  willows,  again  sung  the  Lord's 
song ;  their  religious  teachers  were  prominent 
in  these  seasons  of  refreshing,  and  their  priests 
the  first  to  blow  the  silver  clarion  of  glad  tid- 
ings. The  nation  was  exalted  or  debased,  as 
their  religious  teachers  were  honored  or  dis- 
honored, and  as  they  exerted  or  failed  to  exert 
their  appropriate  influence.  For  fifteen  hun- 
dred years  they  maintained  this  pre-eminence; 
and  although  their  power  was  doubtless  aug- 
mented by  the  exterior  impressiveness  and 
splendor  of  their  economy,  the  right  arm  of 
their  strength  was  their  religious  influence. 
So  long  as  the  nation  was  in  its  glory,  its  re- 
ligious teachers  were  the  glory  and  strength  of 
the  nation.  Its  darkest  period,  the  four  hun- 
dred years  between  Malachi  and  John  the  Bap- 
tist, was  a  period  when  the  voice  of  their  proph- 
ets was  not  heard.  Yet  even  in  this  degenerate 
and  afilicting  period,  there  were  not  wanting 


22  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

God's  consecrated  priests  among  them,  -some 
of  Avhom  were  like  tlie  salt  that  retained  its 
savor,  the  lights  and  guardians  of  the  chiircli, 
and  the  adornment  of  their  race.  "  Salvation 
is  of  the  Jews."  If  there  be  piety  in  the  world  ; 
if  there  be  precious  hopes  and  glorious  pros- 
pects; if  there  be  churches  and  Christian  lands 
w^hich  live  to  honor  God  and  bless  his  people  ; 
they  are  to  be  traced  up  to  those  schools  of  the 
prophets  where  Samuel  and  Elijah  taught,  and 
to  those  holy  men  who  caught  their  falling 
mantle. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED. 

These  rites  and  sacrifices  are  no  more ; 
*'  neither  is  there  any  more  prophet."  The 
sacred  fire  is  extinguished  on  their  altars ;  the 
Shekinah  has  disappeared ;  and  the  glory  is 
departed  from  the  temple.  The  tribe  of  Levi 
cannot  now  be  distinguished  from  the  tribe  of 
Judali  or  of  Naphtali ;  every  line  of  demarca- 
tion is  obliterated  in  uncircumcised  confusion  ; 
Judaism  is  merged  in  Christianity,  and  the 
Jew^ish  priesthood  in  the  Christian  ministry. 

The  greatest  of  all  Christian  teachers  was  the 
Divine  Founder  of  Christianity,  himself.  There 
was  an  immeasurable  distance  between  him  and 
all  who  preceded,  and  all  who  came  after  him. 
None  have  equalled,  or  can  equal  him,  in  his 
perfect  intelligence  of  the  truth ;  in  his  firm 
conviction  of  its  magnitude  and  importance  ;  in 
simplicity  and  directness;  in  the  pure  and 
glowing  affections  with  which  he  dispensed  it ; 
or  in  the  authority  with  which  he  spake, — the 
authority  of  truth,  of  goodness.  There  are  no* 
such  pow  erful  and  sweet  words  on  the  records 


24  THE   POWER  OF,  THE  PULPIT. 

of  earth, — words  bathed  in  the  fountain  of  eter- 
nal love, — as  tliose  which  dropped  like  the  rain, 
and  distilled  like  the  dew  from  his  unearthly 
lips.  "  The  law  came  by  Moses,  but  grace  and 
truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ."  Inspired  men,  and 
vminspired,  in  thousands,  have  preached  the 
same  truths  which  he  preached ;  yet  "  never 
man  spake  like  this  man."  It  was  indeed  dur- 
ing his  humiliation  that  he  exercised  the  pro- 
phetic office ;  they  were  days  of  the  "  hiding 
of  his  power;"  the  "Spirit  was  not  given,  be- 
cause Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified ;"  yet  never 
before,  nor  since,  did  the  Gospel  exhibit  so 
much  of  its  native  beauty  and  glory,  as  when 
uttered  by  the  lips  that  tasted  the  wormwood 
and  the  gall. 

The  power  of  the  pulpit  during  the  apostolic 
age,  is  ascertained  mainly  from  that  beautiful 
compend  of  ecclesiastical  history,  which  is  con- 
tained in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  They  had 
some  peculiar  facilities  for  their  work,  and  dif- 
ficulties and  discouragements  that  were  pecul- 
iar. Everywhere  they  preached  Jesus  and  the 
resurrection ;  in  the  temple,  in  the  synagogues 
of  the  Jews,  in  the  forum,  in  the  market-place, 
in  the  school-room,  in  the  streets,  and  in  their 
own  private  lodgings ;  "  beginning  at  Jerusa- 
lem," and  extending  their  labors  throughout 
Asia  and  parts  of  Europe.  Imbued  with  the 
Spirit  of  their  Master,  nobly  did  these  pioneers 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  25 

of  the  Christian  faith  "  do  the  work  of  evangel- 
ists, and  make  full  proof  of  their  ministry."  They 
put  their  divine  armor  to  the  test,  and  tried  the 
excellency  of  its  power.  And  what  were  its 
conquests  ?  Here  we  read  of  three  thousand 
subdued  under  a  single  sermon ;  soon  after, 
and  elsewhere,  o{ Jive  thousand  more  ;  and  then 
of  other  thousands,  till  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness shook  "  from  turret  to  foundation  stone," 
and  Satan  seemed  about  to  "  fall  like  liijhtninsr 
from  heaven."  It  were  no  easy  matter  to 
measure  the  influence  they  exerted  ;  nor  can  it 
be  measured  by  mortal  man.  Never  were  there 
such  exemplifications  of  the  power  of  the  pulpit, 
as  during  the  apostolic  age.  With  no  human 
helper,  and  no  meretricious  adornment,  with- 
out wealth,  standing  alone  as  God's  messen- 
ger to  guilty  men,  the  pulpit  of  that  single  age 
gave  the  new  religion  to  the  world,  grounded 
it  upon  a  firm  basis,  and  established  "  a  king- 
dom which  cannot  be  moved."  Wondrous 
scenes  were  they  amid  which  these  holy  men 
stood ;  wondrous  words  which  they  spake ; 
wondrous  effects  which  they  produced ;  and 
which  we,  at  the  distance  of  eighteen  centu- 
ries, look  back  upon,  when  the  "  rod  of  God's 
strength"  first  went  forth  out  of  Zion. 

Even  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  ascension  of 
our  Divine  Lord,  is  forbidden  us  in  these  ob- 

2 


26  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

servations.  It  was  the  beginning,  rich  in  prom- 
ise, of  that  great  moral  transformation,  which 
was  destined  to  make  the  wilderness  like  Eden, 
and  the  desert  as  the  garden  of  God.  The  em- 
blems of  power  might  be  exhausted  in  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  first  Christian  pulpit.  The  great 
deceiver  of  the  nations  received  a  check  in  his 
usurpation,  never  to  be  forgotten.  "  He  that 
sat  on  the  pale  horse,  wiiose  name  Avas  Death, 
and  Hell  followed  with  him,"  was  arrested  in 
the  very  frenzy  of  his  course.  A  magnetic 
light  was  thrown  forth  in  its  concentrated 
power  upon  the  nations;  and  that  mighty 
crowd  that  were  treading  their  way  so  quietly 
to  the  pit,  fell  to  the  earth  and  exclaimed, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  us  to  do  ?"  A  new 
world  sprung  into  being  at  the  voice  which 
preached  a  crucified  Saviour,  and  told  of  re- 
demption through  the  blood  of  Calvary. 

Pulpits  there  have  been  since,  and  still  are, 
which  speak  for  God  and  his  Christ.  More 
especially  from  the  fifteenth  century  to  the 
present  hour,  has  their  influence  been  directly 
felt  in  the  conversion  and  sanctification  of  men. 
The  remarkable  revival  of  pure  and  undefiled 
religion,  at  the  beginning,  and  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  great  Protestant  Reformation,  is  an 
event  which  speaks  volumes  in  favor  of  a  truly 
Christian  ministry.  Among  the  millions  of 
Christendom,  and  amid  all  the  ignorance  and 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  27 

unblushing  profligacy  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
some  few  there  were  wlio  could  read  the 
Scriptures;  who  did  read  them;  whose  bosoms 
responded  to  their  soul-transforming  and  trans- 
porting truths ;  and  who  could  not  disobey  the 
command,  "  Come  out  .of  her,  my  people,  lest 
ye  be  partakers  of  her  plagues  !"  They  dared 
not  throw  aside  their  commission  as  preachers 
of  the  Gospel,  because  the  more  thorough  their 
inquiries,  the  more  thorough  and  solemn  was 
their  conviction,  that  never  till  then  had  they 
known  what  the  true  Gospel  was.  They  did 
preach  it.  They  were  mighty  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  terrible  was  the  struggle  :  but  they 
w^ere  valiant  men,  and  God  was  with  them.  It 
was  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  preaching ; 
men  of  that  age  had  never  heard  any  thing  like 
this  kind  of  preaching  before.  It  was  not  the 
indulgencies  of  the  Augustinian  friar  that  they 
preached  ;  it  was  not  the  crucifix ;  it  was  the 
cross  of  Christ  contending  with  sin  in  every 
form,  and  lifted  up  in  earnest.  It  was  no  longer 
the  age  of  forms  and  homilies,  but  of  scriptu- 
ral exposition  and  instructive  discourses ;  and 
the  results  were  glorious  to  God,  and  honor- 
able to  his  chosen  servants.  The  pulpit  sent 
forth  its  rays  in  every  direction,  and  "  men 
started  as  from  the  slumbers  of  a  dream."  Its 
object  was  not  so  much  to  make  them  anti- 
Romanists,  as  Christians;  men  born  of  God; 


28  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

and  they  were  abundantly  honored  in  so  do- 
ing. Christianity  was  once  more  recognized 
in  her  native  loveliness,  coming  forth  from  the 
smothering  vapor  and  mists  of  ages,  in  her 
heavenly  radiance.  It  was  the  7*e-e mancipation 
of  the  world.  It  was  the  Sun  of  righteousness 
bursting  forth  from  almost  total  eclipse. 

There  were  deep  and  melancholy  declen- 
sions in  the  pulpit  after  the  Reformation.  In 
England,  it  vacillated  from  Protestantism  to 
Popery,  and  from  Popery  back  again  to  Protest- 
antism. The  reign  of  Elizabeth  was  illustrious 
for  men  distinguished  in  the  sanctuary,  as  well 
as  men  distinguished  in  the  cabinet  and  the 
forum  ;  yet  with  all  its  advances,  it  was  a  dark 
reign.  Under  James  there  w^as  a  false  theology, 
which,  for  the  most  part,  was  far  from  magnify- 
ing the  grace  of  God  in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son : 
and  which  prepared  the  way  for  that  laxity 
both  in  faith  and  in  morals,  which  mark  with 
such  indelible  infamy  the  reign  of  the  second 
Charles.  A  few  there  were,  like  Tillotson  and 
Barrow,  in  the  Established  Church,  but  they 
were  cold  and  savored  little  of  evansrelical  doc- 
trine  ;  more  there  were  among  the  Dissenters, 
like  Watts  and  Doddridge,  who  breathed  the 
spirit  of  a  purer  and  more  fervid  Christianity ; 
but  it  was  not  until  that  sacred  band  sent  forth 
from  the  University  of  Oxford,  arose,  consisting 
of  such  men  as  Whitfield,  Wesley,  Ingham, 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    PULPIT.  29 

and  Hervey,  patronized  by  the  rank,  and  piety, 
and  resources  of  that  most  devoted  and  remark- 
able of  all  Christian  women,  Selina,  the  Coun- 
tess  of  Huntingdon,  that  the  pulpit  once  more 
entered  upon  its  appropriate  work  of  winning 
souls  to  the  Divine  Redeemer.*  Treading 
closely  in  their  steps,  we  find  Fletcher  and 
Haime,  Romaine  and  Venn,  Berridge  and  Hill, 
Toplady  and  Grimshaw,  De  Courcy  and  Madan, 
Howel,  Harris  and  Shirley,  Cadogan  and  Win- 
ter, Waugh,  Bogue,  and  Simeon,  and  others 
not  a  few,  who,  notwithstanding  the  variety  of 
their  views,  had  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One, 
and  gave   an  impulse   to   the  pulpit   which  it 

*  The  dissenting  ministers  of  England  ever  have  been  a  noble 
class  of  men.  During  a  discussion  in  Parliament,  some  time,  if  I 
mistake  not,  between  the  years  1775  and  1780,  upon  tlie  Bill  favorable 
to  religious  liberty,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Drummond,  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  attacked  the  Dissenters  with  great  virulence,  stigmatizing  them 
as  men  of  "  close  ambition."  In  reply  to  tliis  attack,  the  elder  Pitt, 
the  Earl  of  Chatham,  made  the  following  remarks  :  "  This  is  judging 
uncharitably,  and  whoever  brings  here  a  charge  without  proof,  de- 
fames. The  dissenting  ministers  are  represented  as  men  of  close 
ambition.  They  are  so,  my  lords  ;  and  their  ambition  is  to  keep  close 
to  the  college  of  fishermen,  not  of  cardinals  ;  and  to  the  doctrine  of 
inspired  apostles,  not  to  the  decrees  of  interested  and  aspiring  bishops. 
Theij  contend  for  a  scriptural  creed  and  a  scriptural  worship  ;  xoe 
have  a  Calvinistic  creed,  a  Popish  liturgy,  and  an  Arminian  clergy. 
The  Reformation  lias  laid  open  the  Scriptures  to  all ;  let  not  the  bish- 
ops shut  them  again.  Laws  in  support  of  ecclesiastical  power  are 
pleaded,  which  it  would  shock  humanity  to  execute.  It  is  said  that 
religious  sects  have  done  great  mischief  when  they  were  not  kept 
under  restraint ;  but  history  offers  no  proof  that  sects  have  ever  been 
mischievous  when  they  were  not  oppressed  and  persecuted  by  the  rul- 
ing church." 


30  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

had  not  felt  since  the  days  of  the  Reformation. 
These  were  great  days  for  Britain.  Then  it 
was  that  dukes  and  duchesses  bowed  before 
the  cross ;  and  such  men  as  Chesterfield  and 
Bolingbroke,  Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord  North,  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  and  Mr.  Fox,  and  Garrick 
and  Shuter,  and  the  flower  of  the  aristocracy, 
writhed  under  the  burning  rays  of  "  the  Taber- 
nacle." Of  all  men  since  the  days  of  the  Apos- 
tles, George  IVJiitJield  is  the  man  who  gave  the 
pulpit  its  true  power.  John  Newton  says  of 
him,  "  He  was  the  original  of  popular  preach- 
ing, and  all  our  popular  ministers  are  only  his 
copies."  By  popular  preaching,  he  ineans, 
preaching  most  effectively  addressed  to  the 
popular  mind.  He  relates  the  remarkable  fact, 
tRat  "  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Whitfield's  greatest 
persecution,  when  obliged  to  preach  in  the 
streets,  he  received,  in  one  week,  not  fewer  than 
a  thousand  letters  from  persons  distressed  in  their 
consciences  by  the  energy  of  his  preaching." 

The  tAvo  most  remarkable  revivals  of  true 
religion  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  were 
probably  those  which  took  place  at  the  Protes- 
tant Reformation,  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  and  under  Whitfield  and  his  coad- 
jutors and  followers  in  the  eighteentli.  It 
would  be  too  much,  perhaps,  to  say,  that  the 
results  of  the  pulpit  at  these  particular  periods 
have  not  been    duly  appreciated.      But   they 


THE   POWER   OP  THE    PULPIT.  31 

were  days  of  power.     Human  instrumentality 
was    most    truly  abundantly    honored.      God 
himself  was  there.     It  was  the  Spirit  of  God 
poured  from  on  high.     It  was  a  cloud  of  hea- 
venly mercy,   which,    with   the  exception   of 
Spain,  refreshed  the   nations  of  Europe.     Nor 
did  it  it  stop  in  its  course,  hut  sailed  across  the 
ocean,  watered  the  iields  of  this  New  World, 
and  as  it  melted  away,  left  the  bow  of  promise 
spanning   the    whole   heavens.      Millions    and 
millions  have  been   born  of  the   Spirit,  since 
Wicklifle,  Huss,  Jerome,  and  Luther,  and  Whit-- 
field  first  lifted  up  their  voices  to  the  infatuated 
nations.     Germany,  Holland,  France,  Switzer- 
land, the  united  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain,  and 
these  American  States,  together  with  those  dis- 
tant lands  in  the  remoter  eastern  hemisphere, 
and  those  islands  of  the  sea  which  have  come 
under  the  influence  of  Gospel  truth,  all  stand 
forth   before  the  world    as   illustrations   of  its 
power.     Its  trophies  are  in  almost  every  land: 
its  song  of  triumph  is  echoed  from  pole  to  pole. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    SAME    SI:BJECT    CONTINUED. 

Intimately  allied  to  the  thouo^ht  on  whicli 
we  have  jvist  been  dwelling,  we  remark,  in  the 
next  place,  that  every  system  of  religious  teach- 
ing, and  ahnost  every  pulpit  in  Christian  lands, 
has  some  strong  peculiarities.  Different  ages  of 
the  world,  and  different  lands,  and  different  depart- 
"ments  of  the  Christian  Church,  are  a  sort  of  trans- 
cript of  the  pulpits  that  have  instructed  them,  and 
hear  their  peculiarities  to  the  present  hour.  It 
would  be  curious,  but  it  would  be  no  difficult 
matter,  to  trace  this  resemblance  minutely,  and 
mark  those  strong  pecidiarities  by  which  some 
communities  are  distinguished,  and  note  the 
striking  conformity  between  them  and  their  re- 
ligious teachers.  The  gross  idolatry  of  the  pa- 
triarchal ages,  from  the  worship  they  paid  to  the 
heavenly  bodies  to  the  debasing  homage  they 
offered  to  the  elements  of  nature,  to  senseless 
images  and  brutes,  was  changed  from  time  to 
time  through  the  influence  of  their  priests.  The 
crimes  which  drew  down  the  wrath  of  heaven 
upon  the  nations,  were  perpetrated  at  their  al- 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  33 

tars.  The  Jew  is  a  Jew  still,  and  a  Jew  every- 
where, because  his  religious  teachers  are  the 
same.  The  hybrid  character  of  the  colony 
planted  by  the  king  of  Babylon  in  Samaria,  to 
supply  the  place  of  the  ten  tribes  whom  he  had 
carried  into  captivity,  may  be  attributed  to  the 
mingled  influence  of  the  pagan  and  the  JcAvish 
priesthood.  The  Epicurean,  the  Stoic,  and  the 
Platonic  philosophy  formed  a  community  like 
themselves.  All  the  prominent  features  of 
the  different  branches  of  the  entire  Mahome- 
tan world  And  their  exact  counterpart  in  the 
teaching  of  the  Arabian  impostor.  The  char- 
acter of  the  Chinese  remains  less  changed  than 
that  of  any  other  portion  of  the  human  race ; 
and  it  is  because,  amid  all  the  corruptions  which 
have  been  ingrafted  upon  their  religious  sys- 
tem during  so  many  successive  ages,  and  amid 
all  the  varieties  of  their  priesthood,  it  is  a  vari- 
ety which  is  scarcely  distinguishable. 

These  remarks  are  not  less  true  in  their 
application  to  the  different  classes  of  men  call- 
ing themselves  Christians.  As  a  general  fact, 
the  Romanist  is  everywhere  a  facsimile  of  the 
priesthood.  The  great  feature  of  his  religion 
is,  that  he  knows  nothing  of  personal  responsi- 
bility. He  reads  not,  he  thinks  not,  he  eats 
not,  without  the  special  permission  of  his  priest; 
while,  at  his  bidding,  he  kneels  reverently  be- 
fore the  altar,  and  then,  as  in  our  own  times, 

2* 


34  THE  powr.R,  OF  Tin:  imlpit. 

and  in  wretclied  Ireland,  he  marks  his  solitary 
victim,  or  enters  on  the  iioly  work  of  pillage, 
plunder,  and  blood.  Proud  and  haughty  Eng- 
land, with  all  her  cxcelleneies,  is  just  the  im- 
age of  her  arrogant  Prelacy.  Scotland  too, 
what  is  she,  what  has  she  been,  if  not  the  re- 
flection of  her  noble  ministry  ?  And  young 
England,  in  her  ne^T  and  Puritan  garb  on  the 
rocks  of  Plymouth,  what  was  she  but  the  counter- 
part of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  Lollards, 
■ — the  foe  of  the  hierarchy  and  the  friend  of  God  ? 
And  in  her  degeneracy,  what  has  she  done  but 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  her  religious  teachers, 
deny  the  Lord  that  bought  her,  and  in  the 
excess  of  her  liberality,  give  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship  to  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet? 

Not  only  does  the  pulpit  stamp  its  impress 
on  the  passing  times,  but  it  leaves  its  mark  for 
a  long  time  to  come.  It  does  its  work  so  thor- 
oughly, that  it  requires  more  than  one  gen- 
eration to  obliterate  the  impression.  Many 
generations  will  pass  away  before  Germany  can 
obliterate  the  influence  of  Luther;  Holland,  of 
Van  Mastricht;  Switzerland,  of  Calvin  ;  Scot- 
land, of  John  Knox  ;  l^igland,  of  Hov/e ;  or 
this  New  World,  of  Jonathan  Edwards. 

We  see  these  things  for  ourselves ;  we  have 
examples  of  them  before  our  eyes.  We  have 
but  to  overlook  the  land,  and  inspect  the  peo- 
ple who  have  been  under  the  same  religious 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  S5 

instruction  for  some  ten,  twenty,  or  forty  years, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  those  large  cities, 
where  the  population  is  ever  changing,  we 
know^  the  people  when  we  know  their  minis- 
ter. Almost  every  observing  man  can  fix  his 
thoughts  upon  more  than  one  community  which 
has  been  distinguished  for  commendable  pecu- 
liarities. They  retain  them  at  home,  and  those 
who  remove  from  them  carry  the  savor  of  them 
wiierever  the  providence  of  God  determines 
their  residence  abroad.  It  would  be  no  diffi- 
cult task  to  name  the  pulpit  that  stamped  this 
character  upon  them,  almost  with  the  precision 
of  the  image  to  the  seal.  There  it  stands;  it 
cannot  be  mistaken !  The  image  is  perfect. 
It  is  the  venerable  preacher,  long  since  sleep- 
ing with  his  fathers,  reappearing,  and  living 
among  men,  in  the  strong  lineaments  of  those 
who  have  come  after  him. 

Advert  now  to  these  influences  in  a  new 
aspect.  They  have  been  exerted,  very  often 
under  great  emharrassment ,  and  in  the  face  of  the 
fiercest  and  most  malignant  opposition. 

There  is  great  force  in  that  mechanical 
machinery  which  contends  successfully  with 
the  wild  elements ;  which  not  only  walks 
like  "a  thing  of  life"  over  the  tranquil  lake, 
but  which  buffets  the  infuriated  wdnds  and 
waves,  and  holds  in  mysterious  subordination 
the   raging   storm.      Never  were  greater  nor 


36  THE  POWER   OF  THE   PULPIT. 

more  desperate  efforts  made,  than  to  destroy 
the  Christian  ministry.  In  almost  every  age 
of  the  world,  from  the  time  that  "  he  tliat 
was  after  the  flesh  persecuted  liim  that  was 
after  the  Spirit,"  these  appointed  guardians  of 
God's  truth  have  encountered  hostilities  di- 
rected against  no  other  class  of  men.  Some- 
times this  hostility  has  assumed  ensnaring 
forms,  with  the  view  of  rendering  their  work 
ineffectual ;  sometimes  the  form  of  obloquy 
and  slander ;  sometimes  it  has  resorted  to 
blood.  It  stoned  and  slew  the  Prophets ;  the 
lone  and  defenceless  precursor  of  the  Great 
Messiah  it  beheaded  in  prison ;  his  Apostles  it 
consigned  to  the  stake  and  the  scaffold,  and 
their  adorable  Master  to  the  cross. 

Bitter  are  the  conflicts  which  the  pulpit  has 
encountered.  The  waters  have  been  troubled 
and  lashed  to  fury  by  the  "  Prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air;"  yet  has  its  voice  been  heard  in 
the  midst  of,  and  above  the  fierce  elements. 
Though,  for  the  most  part,  the  first,  the  least 
pitied,  and  the  most  signal  victims  of  this  ma- 
lignity, its  ministers  have  held  fast  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus.  It  is  a  fact  of  deep  interest, 
that  from  the  death  of  its  Divine  Founder,  the 
history  of  the  pulpit  may  be  traced,  not  in  the 
martyrdom  only,  but  in  the  successes  and  tri- 
umphs of  its  martyred  preachers. 

The  first  three  centuries,  immediately  after 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  37 

the  death  of  the  last  of  the  Apostles,  form  a  re- 
markable era  in  the  history  of  the  pulpit.    The 
corruption  of  subsequent  ages  had  not  yet  so 
changed  its  character,  but  that  it  still  bore  the 
prominent  features  of  Christianity.     We  have 
found  no  means  of  ascertaining  to  what  extent 
its  ministers  were  multiplied  at  this  early  pe- 
riod;  but   from  the  multitude    of  the  Jewish 
priests  that   were   obedient    to  the  faith,  and 
from  the  number  and  flourishing  condition  of 
the  churches  that  were  organized  durino:  the 
ministry  of  the  Apostles,  and  soon  after,  we 
have  no  reason  to  think  they  were  few.    There 
were  such  men  as  Simeon  of  Jerusalem,  Ignatius 
of  Antioch,    Justin  Martyr,  Tolycarp,  IrcBneus, 
Clemens,  Cyprian,  and  others,    through  whom 
multitudes,  especially  of  the  middle  and  lower 
orders  of  society,  were  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge  of  the    truth.      Ecclesiastical  historians 
unite  in  the  testimonv,  that  the  Christians  of 
this  period  furnish  rare  specimens  of  the  true 
faith  and  the  true  charity.     Nor  were  these  tri- 
umphs limited  to  the  lower  classes  ;   high-born, 
and  highly-nurtured  men  and  women,  and  illus- 
trious families  there  were,  whose  zeal,  liberal- 
ity, brotherly  love,  and  heavenliness  of  spirit 
and  deportment,  as  well  as  their  fortitude  in 
suffering,  evinced    the   victorious  strength  of 
those  truths  that  were  "  to  the  Jew  a  stum- 
bling block,  and  to  the  Greek  foolishness." 


38  THR    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

During  the  Ijittcr  part  of  this  period,  there 
were  dissensions;  there  was  even  schism;  but 
there  was  self-denying,  persevering  piety, — 
piety  that  rose  superior  to  the  favor  and  frowns 
of  the  world.  There  was  less  of  its  favors  than 
its  frowns ;  for  the  most  part,  it  was  a  period 
of  storms ;  while  amid  the  severity  of  the 
storm,  the  ministers  of  God,  instead  of  seeking 
a  refuge  from  its  fury,  buried  themselves  in  its 
angry  waters,  and  rather  than  prove  recreant  to 
their  trust,  chose  to  be  dragged  from  the  altar 
to  the  scaffold. 

Of  the  latter  part  of  this  age  of  terrific  per- 
secution it  is  difficult  to  speak.  It  has  no  need 
of  painting  and  poetry  to  add  to  it  one  sombre 
hue,  or  one  lyric  strain.  The  sober  facts  are, 
that  tlie  utter  extermination  of  Christianity  was 
the  favorite  object  of  the  Pagan  Avorld.  The 
public  assemblies  of  the  people  of  God  were 
forbidden ;  their  prayers,  and  their  praises, 
and  the  voice  of  their  beloved  teachers  were 
heard  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  and  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  Christianity  was 
stigmatized  as  the  plague  of  the  nations,  and 
the  procuring  cause  of  all  their  calamity ;  it 
was  slandered  as  the  disloyal  religion,  and  the 
enemy  of  princes,  and  the  blood  of  its  minis- 
ters flooded  the  land.  Human  ingenuity  was 
tasked  to  augment  their  sufferings,  and  to  render 
the  most  revolting  scenes  of  cruelty  the  amuse- 


THE    POWER   OF    THE   PULPIT.  39 

ment  of  the  people.  The  pulpit  was  covered 
with  the  pall  of  death,  and  the  "  witnesses 
prophesied  in  sackcloth." 

But  "  why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?"  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile, princes  and  people,  polytheism  and  phi- 
losophy stood  forth  as  God's  selected  testimony 
that  these  martyred  men  triumphed  in  Christ, 
and  made  manifest  the  savor  of  his  name  in 
every  place.  Christ  triumphed  in  the  triumph 
of  his  Gospel,  and  his  ministers  triumphed  in 
him.  The  few  who  were  left  in  that  terri- 
ble age,  uniting  their  living  testimony  with  the 
"  poor  dumb  mouths  "  of  the  dead,  carried  the 
truth  to  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  made  dis- 
ciples of  persecutors,  and  converts  of  kings,  and 
turned  the  temples  of  Paganism  into  churches 
for  the  worship  of  the  living  God. 

We  need  not  descend  to  later  times.  It  were, 
in  some  memorable  periods  of  the  world,  but 
substantially  the  same  tale  of  suffering  and  of 
conquest,  with  this  dilTerence  only,  that  the  for- 
mer were  the  cruel  deeds  o^  Paganism,  the  latter, 
the  more  cruel  deeds  of  a  power  baptized  with 
the  Christian  name  !  Yes,  the  Christian  name, 
— I  blush  to  say  it,— the  Christian  name  !  Oh 
Christianity  !  Christianity  !  what  deeds  of  dark- 
ness and  of  blood  have  not  been  imputed  to  thy 
pure  and  lovely  nature,  and  perpetrated  under 
the  cover  of  thy  holy  cross  !     That  sweet  em- 


40  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

blem  of  peace  and  of  thee  has  been  upon  their 
bosoms  when  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  thy 
saints  !  So  insatiate  was  blood-thirsty  Rome, 
that  the  rising  generation  grew  up  only  to  take 
the  place  of  their  slaughtered  fathers,  and  the 
children  at  school  spake  familiarly  of  being  ed- 
ucated for  the  scaffold.  Yet,  strange  to  say, 
the  same  historian  who  tells  us  these  things, 
tells  also,  that  while  the  Protestant  prisoners 
w  ere  so  numerous  that  it  was  impossible  to  put 
them  all  to  death,  it  Avas  the  complaint  of  the 
Catholics  that  the  heretics  were  increasing  ev- 
ery day;  "so  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God 
and  prevailed."  The  pulpit  weathered  the 
storm. 

If  w^e  speak  of  our  own  times,  we  can  only 
say,  ''the  offence  of  the  cross  has  not  ceased." 
God  has  chained  the  arm  of  persecution  in  this 
land,  but  he  has  not  sealed  the  lips  of  obloquy. 
Nor  is  it  "  as  though  some  strange  thing  had 
happened  to  us,"  that  men  there  are  who  are 
never  more  eloquent  than  when  speaking  and 
writing  against  God's  ministers.  If  we  were 
to  give  a  word  of  counsel  to  these  men,  we 
would  tell  them,  that  it  is  the  devil's  work 
they  are  doing,  and  we  would  caution  them 
against  spitting  out  their  venom  so  freely  at 
the  foot  of  God's  altars.  One  thing  comforts 
us.  Such  men  are  not  wont  to  contend  wdth 
shadows.    The  pulpit  may  glory  in  having  such 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  41 

enemies,  for  it  shows  its  worth  and  importance. 
It  must  have  power,  else  would  it  never  have 
excited  so  much  concern  and  suspicion,  and 
provoked  such  ribaklry  and  rage.  That  it  has 
a  being-  in  such  a  world  as  this,  is  proof  that  it 
has  power  which  even  such  a  world  cannot 
overcome. 

There  is  still  another  view.  If  vou  derange 
the  main  shaft  of  a  steam-engine,  or  the  main- 
spring of  a  watch,  you  disturb  the  whole  ma- 
chinery, and  it  stops.  And  what  does  this 
indicate,  but  that  the  shaft  of  the  engine  and 
the  spring  of  the  watch  have  a  place  that  is 
essential  to  the  complicated  machinery;  or  if 
they  are  but  partially  deranged,  and  still  act, 
they  act  irregularly,  and  perhaps  furiously. 
And  this  shows  again  that  they  have  power. 

In  the  moral  machinery  of  this  world,  that 
great  engine,  the  pulpit,  has  not  unfrequently 
been  thus  deranged.  It  has  been  entangled 
with  other  and  distinct  parts  of  this  moral 
mechanism ;  and  the  consequence  has  been 
just  what  might  have  been  expected  from  an 
agency  so  effective  ;  its  movements  have  been 
erratic,  wild,  furious,  and  destructive.  Now 
we  affirm,  that  this  very  derangement  and  abuse 
of  the  pulpit  is  evidence  of  its  power.  We  ac- 
knowledge that  it  has  often  been  perverted  to 
unworthy  ends ;  but  what  if  it  be  so  ?  What 
if,  in  some  lands,  the  Church  has  become  so 


42  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

entangled  with  the  State,  that  the  pulpit  has 
lost  its  spiritual  character,  and  been  tlirust  out 
of  its  place  ?  Was  it  powerless  ?  Was  it  the 
weakness  of  the  pulpit  seeking  to  support  itself 
by  alliance  with  the  State ;  or  was  it  the  weak- 
ness of  the  State  seeking  to  sustain  itself  by 
alliance  Avith  the  pulpit  ?  There  is  but  one 
answer  to  these  inquiries ;  and  that  is,  the 
moral  has  ever  been  demanded  to  guard  and 
augment  the  civil  power.  The  only  instances 
with  which  I  am  familiar,  in  which  the  pulpit 
has  sought  alliance  with  the  State,  have  been 
those  in  which  the  Church  has  first  been  weak- 
ened by  the  "  powers  that  be."  Constantine  and 
Theodosius  made  the  pulpit  dependent  on  the 
civil  power;  but  they  destroyed  its  spiritual 
character,  in  which  all  its  native  energy  con- 
sists. When  Pepin  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
temporal  power  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  he  ru- 
ined the  pulpits  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  degenerate  and 
corrupted  priesthood.  At  the  close  of  that  pe- 
riod of  bitter  persecution,  to  which  w^e  have 
already  referred,  the  time  was  drawing  near 
when  the  pulpit  entered  upon  that  career  of 
spiritual  domination,  which  was  not  less  its 
own  dishonor  tlian  the  infamy  and  curse  of  the 
Church.  During  what  are  called  the  "  middle 
ages,"  comprising  a  period  of  a  thousand  years, 
from  the  fall  of  Rome  by  the  Goths  in  the  fifth 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  43 

century,  to  the  fall  of  Constantinople  in  the 
fifteenth  before  the  Turks,  little  can  be  said 
of  the  true  power  of  the  pulpit.  They  were 
"  dark  asfes."  Ministers  of  relioion  there  were, 
but  they  were  not  teachers.  Ignorance  could 
not,  in  those  days,  be  more  emphatically  stig- 
matized, than  to  say  of  any  man,  that  he  is 
"ignorant  as  a  priest."  Altars  there  were,  and 
dumb  images,  and  senseless  relics,  and  un- 
meaning rites  and  ceremonies.  Priests  there 
were,  w^ith  splendid  robes,  and  shaven  and 
mitred  head.  There  were  retired  confessionals, 
and  penance,  and  indulgencies,  and  ridiculous 
controversies.  But  places  of  religious  worship, 
pulpits  devoted  to  the  teaching  of  the  people, 
religious  services  in  the  vernacular  tongue, 
were  like  fountains  sparsely  scattered  in  the 
Arabian  desert.  One  thing  seems,  indeed,  to 
have  been  authoritatively  taught,  and  it  was 
the  sum  and  substance  of  the  teaching.  Boldly 
and  without  shame  was  the  dogma  enforced, 
that  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion  ;  and  it 
sunk  into  the  minds  of  the  people.  It  was 
easily  believed  and  digested ;  for  it  was  an 
easy  religion.  "  Like  priest,  like  people."  The 
people  "  loved  to  have  it  so."  Priests  and 
people  were  true  to  their  principles.  They 
had  no  need  of  pulpits ;  for  a  long  period, 
there  was  not  such  a  thing  known  as  for  a 
pope,  a  cardinal,  or  even  a  bishop,  to  preach. 


44  THE    POWER   01-^    THE    PULPIT. 

I  would  not  be  misunderstood.  Tliere  were 
some  few  truly  Christian  ])ulpits  in  the  Dark 
Ages,  Augustin  and  Lactantius  of  the  Latin, 
and  Chrysostom  and  Basil  of  the  Greek  church, 
furnish  examples  of  rich,  eloquent,  and  effec- 
tive preaching.  Men  there  were  of  illumined 
intellect  and  sanctified  heart,  like  Athanasius, 
Ambrose,  and  Gregory  Nazianzen,  and  Claude 
of  Turin;  but  they  were  like  solitary  lights 
travelling  across  this  night  of  deep  and  pro- 
tracted darkness.  And  it  is  because  they  were 
so  few,  and  these  few  not  a  little  tinged  with 
the  Platonic  philosophy,  and  so  embarrassed  by 
the  restriction^  of  a  spiritual  despotism,  and 
some,  even  of  these,  led  away  by  the  same  grasp- 
ing ambition,  that  the  pul])it  had  so  little  power 
as  the  depository  of  Christian  instruction,  and 
so  much  as  the  engine  of  a  secular  policy. 

The  pulpits  that  were  not  Christian,  too,  had 
power;  and  it  was  tremendous  power,  wan- 
dering as  they  did  so  far  from  their  legitimate 
sphere  as  to  exhaust  their  energies  for  evil. 
Peter  the  Hermit  was  a  simple  ecclesiastic  ;  yet 
did  he  rouse  the  whole  of  Christendom  to  arms. 
The  Spanish  Inquisition  too,  was  the  offspring 
of  the  priesthood.  Nor  is  there  any  thing  that 
detracts  from  the  power  of  the  anti-christian 
pulpit,  in  these  and  subsequent  times,  but  the 
simple  fact,  that  it  is  so  much  easier  to  do  wrong 
than  it  is  to  do  right, — to  effect  evil  than  to 


THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT,  45 

effect  good, — to  give  an  impulse  to  the  down- 
ward current  of  men's  passions,  than  to  resist 
and  control  it.  It  is  a  very  small  capacity  which 
is  necessary  for  mischief;  yet  was  that  capacity 
exerted  to  the  utmost.  The  barbarous  Attila, 
that  "  scourge  of  God,"  did  not  more  certainly 
spread  terror  and  desolation  over  Europe,  than 
the  Romish  hierarchy  diffused  far  and  wide  an 
influence  destructive  to  true  relisfion. 

When  the  enemies  of  relio:ion  tell  us  to  look 
at  the  Dark  Ages  for  exemplifications  of  the 
power  of  the  pulpit,  it  is  just  where  we  wish  to 
look,  because  they  furnish  the  strongest  proofs 
of  the  gross  perversion  of  that  moral  influence 
in  which  the  Christian  pulpit  glories.  It  was 
an  age  far  more  replete  with  danger  to  the  true 
ministers  of  Christ,  than  were  the  most  strin- 
gent proscriptions  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  and 
the  sorrow  and  mourning  of  the  ten  memora- 
ble persecutions  that  preceded  it.  The  pulpit 
fell  before  it,  and,  to  show  its  power,  every  thing 
holv  was  buried  in  its  fall. 

What  is  the  pulpit  without  the  preacher  ?  A 
block  of  wood,  or  a  slab  of  marble.  And  what 
is  the  preacher,  without  the  word  of  truth  ? 
Just  a  block  of  wood,  or  a  slab  of  marble.  Ex- 
tinguish the  light  of  the  pulpit,  and  it  no  longer 
deserves  the  name.  The  pulpit  of  the  Dark 
Ages  is  the  merest  caricature  of  the  Christian 
pulpit.     The  house  of  God  was  metamorphosed 


46  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

into  the  syiiac:o£rne  of  Satan,  and  its  ministry 
was  the  ministry  of  death.  It  was  but  the 
emissary  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  promulgating  new 
doctrines  of  iniquity  and  blasphemy  in  the  name 
of  God  the  Holy.  " 

Just  change  that  tliousand  years  into  the 
nineteenth  century.  Light  up  that  dark  night 
with  but  a  thousand  suns  as  bright  as  Isaac 
Barrow  and  William  Bates,  Stephen  Charnoch, 
Jeremy  Taylor,  and  John  Owen,  and  where 
would  have  been  the  Dark  Ages  ?  Had  there 
been  a  few  men  like  the  Apostle  Paul,  to  have 
raised  their  voices  amid  all  that  worldliness 
and  pride ;  nay,  had  there  been  one  pulpit 
within  every  thousand  square  miles,  that  spake 
with  a  voice  like  Luther,  the  clouds  had  been 
dispersed,  and  that  dark  night  had  never  over- 
shadowed the  earth. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE     SAME     SUBJECT     CONTINUED. 

But  there  is  a  different  thought  from  any  of 
those  to  which  our  attention  has  been  thus  far 
directed.  In  aiming  at  the  great  and  single 
object  the  pulpit  has  in  view,  it  gains  other 
things ;  things  which  it  does  not  so  directly 
aim  at,  but  which  belong  to  it  as  its  natural 
allies,  which  are  incide7ital  to  it,  and  follow  in  its 
train  of  influences  and  blessings. 

The  mere  fact  that  it  has  a  ready  and  almost 
constant  access  to  the  minds  of  the  people,  is 
itself  an  index  of  its  power.  "  To  the  poor  the 
Gospel  is  preached."  The  pulpit  is  a  popular 
and  democratic  institution,  fitted  to  protect  the 
rights  of  all  classes  of  men,  and  to  diffuse  a 
universal  spirit  of  industry,  virtue,  kindness, 
and  peace.  In  the  organization  of  human  so- 
ciety, it  is  the  only  official  bond  between  the 
aristocracy  and  democracy  of  the  Christian 
world.  Its  sphere  of  influence  lies  first  and 
chiefly  with  the  middle  and  lower  classes ;  nor 
is  there  one  of  the  institutions  which  are  de- 


48  THE   POWER  OF   THE  PULPIT. 

signed  to  make  them  better  and  more  useful 
men,  but  may  be  traced  to  the  pulpit  as  its 
founder.  I  am  ashamed  tliat,  in  one  respect, 
the  corrupt  Church  of  Rome  reads  an  affecting 
lesson  to  Protestants ;  and  it  is  in  their  solici- 
tude to  bring  the  poor  to  the  house  of  God. 
There  are  no  churches  for  the  rich  in  Papal 
lands ;  this  is  an  expedient  of  Protestantism, 
and  a  modern  refmement  upon  that  Christi- 
anity which  teaches  that  "  the  poor  ye  have 
always  with  you.''  "  The  rich  and  the  poor 
meet  together  :  the  Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them 
all."  So  it  ought  to  be,  and  so  it  will  be,  in 
every  prosperous  church.  These  select  churches 
ought  all  to  have  died  with  lukewarm  Laodi- 
cea.  In  other  spheres  we  look  for  distinctions 
among  men ;  Christianity  looks  for  them ;  but 
not  in  the  Church  of  God.  The  pulpit  is  the 
great  spiritual  leveller,  because  it  is  the  expos- 
itor of  a  common  Christianity;  a  Christianity 
that  is  "  no  respecter  of  persons ;"  a  Christianity 
that  swallows  up  all  that  is  adventitious  in  the 
mortal,  in  his  immortality:  This  is  one  depart- 
ment where  it  performs  its  appropriate  func- 
tions. The  difference  in  the  social  institutions 
in  Pagan  and  Christian  lands,  in  the  attach- 
ments, virtues,  characters,  and  thousand  agen- 
cies in  domestic  and  public  life,  cannot  be  ac- 
counted for  without  its  influence. 

It   has   also   truths  and  obligations,  and   a 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  49 

benevolence,  and  n  morality  addressed  to  the 
higher  classes.  Its  voice  has  been  often  heard 
on  subjects  of  high  public  interest.  Its  influ- 
ence has  been  felt  in  scenes  which  "  tried  men's 
souls,"  and  amid  revolutions  which  have  alter- 
nately jeoparded  and  advanced  the  well-being 
of  the  world.  But  whether  they  have  been  for 
good  or  for  evil ;  whether  they  have  been  re- 
ligious, or  civil,  or  of  a  mixed  character ;  the  in- 
fluence of  the  pulpit  has  been  felt  in  them  all. 
That  great^ event  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
the  American  Revolution,  never  would  have 
been  achieved  without  the  influence  of  the  pul- 
pit. Political  society  "  moved  on  the  axis  of 
religion."  The  religious  movement  gave  its 
character  to  the  social  movement.  Men  who 
knew  there  was  a  "  Church  without  a  Bishop," 
knew  also  there  could  be  a  "  State  without  a 
King."  Had  the  pulpits  of  New  England  and 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  occupied  the  same 
position  on  this  question  which  was  occupied 
by  so  many  of  the  pulpits  which  I  could  name, 
we  should  have  been  colonies  still. 

Nor  does  this  event  stand  alone  as  exemplify- 
ing the  power  of  the  pulpit  in  affairs  not  purely 
religious.  The  religion  of  a  nation  is  not  only 
one  of  the  elements  of  its  existence,  but  the 
varied  modifications  of  that  religion  affect  every 
part  of  it,  and  give  it  its  character.  We  are  at 
some  loss  for  a  selection  of  facts  to  illustrate 

3 


60  THE   POWER   OF    THE   PULPIT. 

this  remark,  because  tlicy  crowd  upon  us  from 
every  quarter.  Take  the  following  as  exam- 
ples. Few  measures  have  exerted  a  greater 
influence  upon  national  character,  than  the 
adoption  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land— the  Solemn  League  and  Covenajit,  of  the 
Church  and  people  of  Scotland — the  Augshiirgh 
Confession — the  League  of  the  Protestant  Princes 
ofSmalhalde — the  Westininster  Confession  of  Faith 
— the  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort — and  the 
Cambridge  and  Sayhrook  Platform.  Yet  w^ere 
all  these  either  the  subject  matter  of  legislative 
provision  and  enactment,  or  ratified  in  assem- 
blies in  which  the  Princes  of  the  Empire  were 
present.  The  influence  of  the  pulpit  was  felt 
in  them  all.  There  is  a  young  republic  which 
has  sprung  into  being  in  our  times,  on  the 
shores  of  Africa ;  and  on  its  deep  foundations 
are  the  names  of  Hopkins,  Mills,  Finley,  and 
Ashmun — names  not  soon  forgotten  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  American  pulpit. 

There  is  one  department  where  this  inci- 
dental influence  of  the  pulpit  ever  has  been 
acknowledged;  I  mean  that  of  learning  and 
science.  In  the  Hebrew  state,  its  religious 
teachers  were  the  chief  depositaries  of  its  lite- 
rature. Men  like  Moses  and  Samuel,  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah,  Isaiah  and  Daniel,  as  w^ell  as  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  Rabbins  of  later 


THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT.  g| 

times,  could  not  long  dwell  among  an  uncouth 
and  ignorant  people.  The  standard  writers 
upon  Jewish  antiquities  lead  us  to  conclude 
that  the  cities  of  the  Levites  were  seats  of 
learning,  and  that  the  schools  of  the  Prophets 
were  not  unlike  the  schools  of  Grecian  philos- 
ophy, where  the  young  men  associated  with 
their  teachers,  and  were  qualified  to  be  the 
teachers  of  the  nation.  The  Jewish  priests 
are  declared  to  have  been  set  apart  to  their 
office,  that  they  "  might  teach  the  children  of 
Israel  all  the  statutes  which  the  Lord  had 
spoken  unto  them  by  the  hand  of  Moses." 
They  must  have  been  men  of  no  inconsidera- 
ble learning  in  order  to  have  performed  this 
service.  If  it  is  a  fair  supposition  that  the  Jew- 
ish priesthood  understood  their  own  religious 
laws,  as  well  as  they  were  understood  by 
Witsus,  Waberton,  Graves,  and  Michaelis,  they 
must  have  exerted  no  humble  influence  on  the 
literature  of  this  people. 

There  are  strong  sympathies,  and  a  most  nat- 
ural alliance,  between  religion  and  learning, — • 
Christianity  and  every  department  of  human  sci- 
ence. In  the  brightest  periods  of  the  church  and 
of  literature,  this  alliance  has  been  seen  and  felt. 
It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  that  a  class  of  men, 
to  whom  is  committed  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  people,  should  exert  an  influence  upon 
their  literature,  if  it  were  only   in  liberating 


52  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

the  mind  from  bondage,  imparting  an  impres- 
sion of  personal  responsibility,  and  stimulating 
to  intellectual  eflbrt.    Every  competent  teacher 
of  a  Sabbath  school  knows  that  the  alliance  of 
■which  we  are  speaking,  is  the  most  natural 
thino:  in  the  world.     Were  the  Bible  made  a 
text-book  in  our  common  schools,  our  acade- 
mies and  colleges,  as  this  book  of  God  ought 
to  be  in  every  one  of  them  ;  there  is  no  depart- 
ment which,  from  the  varied  learning  it  re- 
quires, it  would  be  so  difficult  to  supply  with 
an  accomplished  professor ;  nor  is  there  one  in. 
wiiich  so  much  general  information  of  every 
kind  might  be  communicated.    The  Yaeve  facts 
recorded  in  the  sacred  waitings  require  exten- 
sive research,  in  almost  every  department  of 
human  knowledge.     Chronology,  history,  the 
natural  sciences,  the  science  of  law  and  govern- 
ment, and  political  economy,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  laws  of  language,  are  important  auxiliaries 
to  just  and  enlarged  views  of  the  divine  ora- 
cles.    Nowdiere  is  there  a  finer  field  for  such 
researches  than  in  the  five  books  of  Moses,  the 
geater  Prophets,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
The  book  of  Genesis  alone  is  the  source  of  all 
knowledge.     It  is  a  mountain  where  lofty  ce- 
dars, the  cedars  of  God,  strike  their  roots  deep ; 
in   whose    recesses    there  is  golden    ore ;    on 
whose  surface  there  is  a  wilderness  of  native 
flowers  and  fruit ;  through  Avhose  ravines  run 


THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  53 

mig-hty  rivers,  and  where  ancient  nations  dwelt 
that  were  many  and  strong.  Men  of  learning 
have  traversed  it ;  imagination  has  culled  its 
purest  flowers ;  curious  research  has  traced  out 
its  time-worn  channels;  and  patient  and  dis- 
criminating toil  has  dug-  about  its  roots ;  and 
they  are  all  found  fresh  and  pure,  and  the  soil 
inexhaustible. 

It  is  no  presumption  to  say  that  human  learn- 
ing is  under  obligations  to  the  pulpit.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  present  age,  what  a  host  of  names 
has  it  furnished,  in  days  past,  that  are  inscribed 
on  the  temple  of  learning  and  science,  through- 
out the  Continent  of  Europe  and  the  British 
islands !  It  were  a  chasm  to  be  felt,  were  the 
pulpit  no  longer  to  have  a  place  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  literary  world. 

These  and  other  incidental  influences  of  the 
pulpit  are  so  obvious,  that  it  is  a  fact  which  de- 
serves to  be  noticed,  that  historians  have  found 
in  impracticable  to  separate  the  profane  from 
the  sacred.  Robertson,  Hume,  Gibbon,  Sully, 
could  not  give  an  impartial  account  of  the  civil 
without  presenting  the  ecclesiastical.  Oral 
traditions,  historical  poems,  laws,  archives  of 
state,  monuments,  coins,  medals,  books  of  her- 
aldry and  sepulchral  stones,  are  not  more  im- 
portant sources  of  history  than  the  pulpit.  That 
were  a  lame  history  of  France,  in  which  the 
names  of  Petavius,   Beza,  Lorraine,  Bossuet, 


54  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

and  Pascal  had  no  place.  And  what  would  be 
the  history  of  Germany,  where  the  reader  did 
not  find  tlic  j)ortrails  of  Luther,  Melancthon, 
and  Bucer  ?  Who  that  desired  to  do  justice 
to  his  theme,  would  write  the  history  of  Eng- 
land, and  suppress  the  deeds  of  WicklifTe,  Rid- 
ley, Latimer,  Cranmer,  Jewel,  Leighton,  and 
Baxter  ?  Or  what  scholar  would  give  to  the 
world  a  history  of  Scotland,  and  keep  out  of 
sight  such  men  as  Patrick  Hamilton,  Wishart, 
Knox,  Henderson,  Gillespie,  and  Rutherford  ? 
Or  who  would  risk  his  reputation  as  the  histo- 
rian of  New  England,  without  recurring  to  the 
name  of  Robertson,  and  the  pulpits  of  Hooker, 
Davenport,  Cotton,  and  Mather?  Or  where 
shall  we  look  for  any  valuable  historical  sketch 
of  the  Middle  States,  without  being  introduced 
into  the  "  Log  College,"  and  to  such  men  as 
Tennet,  Blair,  Burr,  Dickenson,  and  Davies? 

We  may  not  pursue  this  prolific  thought.  It 
would  be  a  pleasant  service  to  us  to  enter  into 
some  specifications,  and  direct  the  attention  of 
the  reader,  with  more  minuteness,  to  several 
portions  of  the  Christian  Avorld,  where  the  pul- 
pit has  exerted  this  incidental  influence.  We 
may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  direct  his  attention 
to  the  little  state  of  New  Jersey,  and  to  the 
states  of  New  England.  Look  at  Niew  Jersey. 
What  a  beautiful  commonwealth  spreads  itself 
between  the  bay  of  New  York  and  the  Dela- 


THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT.  55 

ware  bay  and  river !  Christian  seminaries  of 
learning,  a  Christian  bench  and  bar,  a  Christian 
legislature,  a  Christian  pulpit, — what  an  adorn- 
ment to  the  land !  My  own  preferences  for 
New  England,  as  one  of  her  native  sons,  may  be 
supposed  to  disqualify  me  to  speak  impartially 
of  that  fair  land ;  but  I  will  use  the  language 
of  one  who  has  never  been  accused  of  any  such 
partialities.*  "Two  centuries  have  elapsed," 
says  this  well  known  and  able  writer,  "  since 
the  first  persecuted  settlers  of  New  England 
set  their  feet  on  these  shores,  to  rear  a  church 
in  all  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us 
free.  The  population  of  that  section  of  coun- 
try has  increased  from  a  few  individuals  to  eigh- 
teen hundred  thousand,  and  there  is  now  one 
minister  to  every  thousand  souls ;  a  proportion 
greater  than  in  some  of  the  oldest  countries  of 
Europe ;  and  there  is  doubtless  no  equal  "popu- 
lation %ipon  earth  to  w  hom  the  Gospel  is  admin- 
istered with  greater  purity  and  fidelity."  What 
would  New  England  have  been  without  her 
pulpit  ?  With  it,  what  is  she,  and  where  is  not 
her  influence  felt  ?  not  simply  in  her  own  civil 
organizations,  but  in  those  of  other  states  of  this 
Union.  There  is  no  part  of  Christendom  that 
has  not  acknowledged  these  incidental  influ- 
ences of  the  pulpit,  in  forming  its  habits  and 

*  Introductory  lecture  delivered  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  Nov.  1818,  by  Charles  Hodge,  D.  D. 


56  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

character,  in  elevatinir  and  purifyinp^  its  institu- 
tions, in  stimulating  and  extending  its  litera- 
ture, in  modifying  its  usages  and  laws,  and  in 
giving  more  or  less  of  peculiarity  to  the  meas- 
ures and  policy  of  its  government.  It  neces- 
sarily gives  a  direction  to  the  current  of  human 
thought, — men  of  talent,  in  every  department 
of  human  life,  feel  its  influence.  It  has  been 
felt  everywhere  ; — in  the  councils  of  warriors 
in  the  field,  and  of  statesmen  in  the  Senate- 
house.  Kings  on  their  thrones  have  listened  to 
its  voice,  and  the  populace  has  been  moved  by 
it.  Men  of  all  religious  persuasions,  and  of  no 
religious  persuasion,  believers  and  infidels,  feel 
its  influence  ;  all  orders  and  combinations  are, 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  subjected  to  its 
power.  In  past  ages  of  the  world,  few  moral 
causes  did  more  in  moulding  the  habits  of  hu- 
man thought,  than  the  various  forms  of  the  scho- 
lastic philosophy ;  but  its  powerful  influence 
waned,  and  eventually  was  eclipsed  by  the 
Christian  pulpit.  Other  influences  there  are 
which  act  upon  the  public  mind  ;  the  press  acts 
upon  it ;  seminaries  of  learning  act  upon  it;  leg- 
islation acts  upon  it;  courts  of  law  act  upon  it ; 
the  theatre  and  the  opera  act  upon  it;  the  fine 
arts  act  upon  it ;  and  the  exchange  acts  upon  it ; 
and  all  with  prodigious  power.  Some  of  these 
are  the  immediate  and  direct  antagonists  of  the 
pulpit ;  and  its  business  is  to  oppose  and  neu- 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  57 

tralize  them.  Some  of  them  are  directly  aux- 
iliary to  it,  and  some  of  them  indirectly.  As 
such,  we  honor  them.  But  if  we  draw  a  line 
around  any  other  department  of  human  influ- 
ence, and  compare  it  with  the  pulpit,  we  must 
do  the  greater  honor  to  this  divine  institution. 
It  has  no  physical  force  to  boast  of;  it  is  its 
moral  power  which  is  its  glory.  Its  conflict  is 
not  the  conflict  of  rushing  bayonets,  but  of  truth 
with  error;  nor  are  its  victories  those  where 
men  are  trodden  down  and  trampled  on,  but 
where  they  are  lifted  up.  It  has  power  above 
the  field  of  battle,  above  the  Forum,  above  the 
Senate-house.  Yes,  it  has  power  above  them  all. 
Compare  them.  Inspect  them.  And  then  say 
which  has  the  more  important  influence  upon 
national  character.  Inspect  them  impartially  ; 
and  whose  sway  is  the  widest,  and  which  occu- 
pies the  largest  space  ?  Who  has  accomplished 
most  for  this  land,  its  warriors  and  its  states- 
men, or  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  ?  Who  most 
for  England,  Edmund  Burke*  and  William  Pitt, 

*  There  is  a  fact  in  regard  to  Edmund  Burke  which  ought  to  be  re- 
membered. In  the  years  1771  and  1772,  during  the  reign  of  George 
III.,  an  association  was  formed  by  some  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  a  few  of  the  laity,  for  the  purpose  of  substituting 
a  declaration  of  assent  to  the  sufficiency  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  for 
the  required  subscription  to  the  thirty-nine  articles.  From  the  place 
of  their  meeting,  it  was  called  the  "  Feathers  Tavern  Association." 
When  the  petition  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons,  by  Sir 
William  Meredith,  tlie  brother-in-law  of  the  unhappy  Lord  Ferrers, 

3* 


68  THE    POWER   OF    THE   PULPIT. 

or  Georc^e  WIiiUK'Id  aiul  Robert  Hall  ?  Who 
for  Scotland  most,  Robert  Bruce  and  William 
Wallace,  or  John  Knox  and  Thomas  Chalmers  ? 
Mark  this  comparison  between  the  most  in- 
fluential of  secular  men,  and  the  more  humble 
minister  of  Christ,  and  it  is  no  difficult  matter 
to  see  on  which  side  the  advantage  lies.     Look 

the  vote  stood  in  favor  of  it  seventy-one,  and  against  it  two  hundred 
and  seventeen. 

The  part  which  that  distinguislied  statesman  and  ornament  of  the 
British  Senate,  Edmund  Burke,  acted  on  tliis  occasion,  is  wortliy  of 
all  praise.  In  the  prospect  of  this  discussion,  he  wrote  to  the  Countess 
of  Huntingdon,  as  follows  : 

'•  IMadam, — I  am  sensible  your  kindness  and  partiality  to  me  will 
induce  you  to  put  the  most  favorable  construction  on  my  seemino- 
neglect  of  the  communication  which  your  ladyship  did  me  tlie  honor 
to  address  to  me.  Permit  me  to  assure  you  that  disregard  and  inat- 
tention to  the  contents  of  your  letter,  and  the  wishes  of  your  ladyship, 
had  not  the  smallest  share  in  it.  I  honor  and  respect  the  great  ac- 
tivity you  have  evinced  on  this  occasion,  and  sliall  make  it  my  study 
to  merit  the  good  opinion  you  entertain  of  me,  which  is  so  flattering 
to  my  feelings. 

"  It  is  with  shame  I  find  myself  so  late  in  answering  a  letter  which 
gave  me  such  sincere  pleasure.  I  am  happy  in  coinciding  with  your 
ladyship  in  attachment  for  the  Established  Church.  I  wish  to  see 
her  walls  raised  on  the  foundation  laid  in  the  volume  of  divine  truth, 
that  she  may  crush  the  conspiracy  of  atheism,  and  those  principles 
which  will  not  leave  to  religion  even  a  toleration.  My  sentiments  in 
regard  to  the  petition  of  the  Clergy,  praying  to  be  relieved  from  sub- 
scription to  the  thirty-nine  articles,  are  in  opposition  to  the  opinions  of 
nearly  all  my  own  party.  Tiicre  is  every  probability  of  its  beino- 
thrown  out ;  and  you  may  rely  on  my  determined  opposition  to  it  in 
every  stage. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  madam,  with  the  highest  esteem  and  re- 
gard, 

"  Your  ladyship's  most  faithful  and  obedient  humble  servant, 

"Edmund  Burke." 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    PULPIT.  59 

at  them  through  the  vvhole  of  their  course, 
from  the  hegimiing  to  its  close,  and  let  their 
own  lips  utter  the  decision.  There  was  an 
humhle  minister  of  Christ  cradled  in  our  na- 
tive hills,  who  occupied  hut  twenty  short  years 
in  preaching  the  Gospel  of  his  Divine  Master, 
who,  as  his  term  of  service  was  about  to  close, 
said,  "  Oh,  if  ministers  only  saw  the  incon- 
ceivable glory  that  is  before  them,  and  the 
preciousness  of  Christ,  they  would  not  be  able 
to  refrain  from  going  about,  leaping  and  clap- 
ping their  hands  for  joy*,  and  exclaiming,  /  am 
a  minister  of  Christ !  I  am  a  minister  of  Christ  /" 
Another  distinguished  individual  there  was,  the 
contemporary  of  the  one  just  spoken  of,  and 
in  political  life,  the  most  distinguished  of  his 
age ; — the  sagacious  counsellor  of  kings,  and 
the  companion  and  supporter  of  their  thrones  ; 
— high  in  office  during  successive  revolutions 
wliich  overturned  the  government  of  his  coun- 
try, and  changed  the  face  of  Europe  ;  and  more 
respected,  and  more  feared  than  any  diploma- 
tist of  his  age  -, — a  man  who  was  the  origin  and 
conductor  of  more  and  the  most  important  ne- 
gotiations, than  any  statesman  who  has  lived ; 
— sometimes  a  stanch  republican,  and  some- 
times ^jus  divinum  monarchist ;  oppressed  with 
honors,  and  loaded  with  almost  immeasured 
wealth,  who  left  on  his  table  the  day  previous 
to   his    deatJ!,   the    following    lines:    "Behold 


60  TIIR   POWER   OF   THE    PULPIT. 

eighty-three  years  passed  away  !  Wliat  cares  ! 
what  agitations  !  what  anxieties  !  what  ill-will ! 
what  sad  complications  !  And  all  without  other 
result,  except  great  fatigue  of  body  and  mind, 
a  profound  sentiment  of  discouragement  of  the 
future,  and  disgust  of  the  past !"  Which  was 
the  more  important  to  the  Avorld,  the  pulpit 
of  Portland,  or  the  cabinet  of  the  Bourbons  ? 
Who  would  uot  rather  have  been  Edward 
Payson  than  Prince  Talleyrand  ! 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED. 

I  ADD  a  siiiE^le  thought  more.  It  may  pre- 
sent a  vivid  impression  of  the  power  of  the 
pulpit,  to  suppose  it  actually  abolished  through- 
out the  world.  What  if  the  dream  of  some 
modern  reformers  could  be  realized,  and  the 
expressed  wishes  of  a  well-known  class  of  men 
among  us  were  gratified ;  and  every  minister 
in  God's  Zion  were  silenced,  and  exiled,  and 
every  sanctuary  in  Christendom  razed  to  its 
foundation !  Can  any  one  doubt,  if  this  reck- 
less experiment  were  fully  made,  that  the 
moral,  the  social,  the  civil  condition  of  the 
world  would  be  melancholy  to  the  last  degree  ? 
What  an  immensity  of  wickedness  would  be 
found  to  exist  among  men !  What  "  mighty 
labor  of  human  depravity !"  and  Avhat  a  stu- 
pendous amount  of  crimes ! 

Nor  is  this  altogether  hypothesis ;  for  we 
have  several  classes  of  facts  to  go  upon  in  our 
illustration  of  this  idea.  Take,  for  example, 
several  instances  in  the  history  of  Papal  king- 
doms, where  they  have  been  placed  under  in- 


62  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

terdict  by  the  reigning  Pope.  When,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  King  John  of  England  had 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  Pope  Innocent  III., 
and  liis  kingdom  was  laid  under  interdict ; 
when  Otho,  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  was  for 
a  similar  cause,  put  under  interdict  by  the 
same  Pope ;  the  result  was  calamitous  beyond 
the  endurance  of  the  people.  So  it  was,  when 
Philip  the  Fair,  of  France,  became  involved  in 
a  quarrel  with  his  Holiness,  and  was  laid  un- 
der interdict  by  Pope  Boniface  IX. ;  and  when 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  Pope  Clement  V. 
dispatched  a  nuncio  to  Venice,  and  on  the  re- 
jection of  his  demands,  excommunicated  the 
Doge,  and  put  his  dominions  under  interdict. 
The  immediate  effect  of  this  sentence,  as  you 
well  know,  was,  that  every  church  in  these 
kingdoms  was  closed  ;  every  priest  forbidden 
to  exercise  his  office ;  and  all  religious  ser- 
vices of  every  kind  indefinitely  suspended. 
The  Sabbath  bell  was  unhung :  the  voice  of 
prayer  and  praise  was  heard  only  in  retirement ; 
the  living  teacher  spoke  not ;  baptism  was 
denied  to  the  newly  born,  religious  consolation 
to  the  dying,  and  Christian  burial  to  the  dead. 
The  clergy  avoided  the  land  groaning  under 
the  malediction  of  the  Pope ;  the  people  were 
excited  against  their  own  princes,  because  they 
were  so  slow  to  become  reconciled  to  Rome. 
Conspiracy  sprung  up  after  conspiracy,  till  the 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  63 

ruling  powers  were  constrained  to  submission 
to  the  Papal  authority,  through  the  fear  of  open 
insurrection.  In  some  of  these  instances,  the 
distress  of  the  people  is  described  as  verging 
on  madness  ; — it  was  the  madness  of  despair, 
because  their  religious  privileges  were  denied 
them.  Have  them  they  would,  even  at  the 
expense  of  revolt  and  massacre. 

Let  us  suppose  such  a  state  of  things  real- 
ized among  Protestants,  and  that  the  countries 
of  England  or  Scotland,  or  the  United  States, 
were  placed  under  the  ban  of  some  govern- 
mental interdict,  and  their  ministers  banished, 
and  their  churches  closed.  The  time  was 
when  this  supposition  was  in  part  realized, 
even  in  Protestant  England,  and  by  the  bar- 
barous "  Act  of  Uniformity,"  in  the  year  1662, 
under  the  reign  of  the  treacherous  Charles  II. 
And  as  the  fatal  day  of  St.  Bartholomew  ap- 
proached, w^hen  the  non-conformist  ministers 
were  to  relinquish  their  pulpits,  or  sign  articles 
which  they  could  not  in  conscience  subscribe 
to,  two  tliousmid  pulpits  were  put  under  inter- 
dict, and  two  thousand  of  God's  faithful  ser- 
vants were  virtually  driven  into  exile.  Prelacy 
triumphed  for  a  while,  as  her  elder  sister  had 
done  before  her ;  and  such  men  as  Calamy  and 
Baxter,  Manton,  Bates,  and  Mead,  instead  of 
resisting  unto  blood,  wept  in  silence.  It  was 
a  dark   day   in  England.      There   was   great 


64  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

mourning.  The  land  mourned  "  every  family 
apart ;  the  family  of  the  house  of  David  apart, 
and  their  wives  apart ;  the  family  of  the  house 
of  Nathan  apart,  and  their  wives  apart;  and 
the  family  of  the  house  of  Levi  apart,  and  their 
wives  apart !  All  the  families  that  remained, 
every  family  apart,  and  their  wives  apart." 

There  was  another  scene  of  this  same  kind, 
though  of  more  terrific  aspect.  During  the 
reign  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  the  spirit  of 
persecution  against  Protestants,  and  especially 
Protestant  ministers,  was  extended  to  such  un- 
relenting severity,  that  on  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantz,  the  Protestant  pulpit  was 
annihilated,  and  its  ministers  slain  and  muti- 
lated, with  every  species  of  barbarity.  It  was 
the  jubilee  of  Rome ;  but  it  was  the  funeral- 
day  of  the  people  of  God,  No,  it  was  not 
their  funeral-day;  for  so  many  of  them  died 
without  burial,  that  the  inhabitants  of  some 
cities  were  obliged  to  remove  from  them  to  an 
atmosphere  less  corrupted  by  the  bodies  of  the 
slain.  Those  who  could  escape  tlijs  scene  of 
horror  fled;  they  fled  to  other  lands.  Two 
hundred  tlbousand  of  them  fled  ;  and  not  a  few 
of  the  descendants  of  these  noble  men  are  here 
among  ourselves,  where  the  sword  of  persecu- 
tion does  not  smite  them,  and  where  they  perish 
not  by  "  a  famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord." 

There  is  a  still  more  affecting  exemplification 


THE    POWER   OF    THE    PULPIT.  65 

of  the  truth  Ave  are  illustrating,  and  one  that  is 
fresh   in  the  memory  of  some  who  are  living. 
The  writer  of  these  pages  remembers  it  well, 
when  in  the  days  of  his  childliood,  the  church 
bell  of  his  native  parish  tolled  for  the  downfall 
of  Christianity  in  France.     By  one   sweeping 
and  atheistic  law,  the  French  people  decided 
that    there    was  no  God.     Her   pulpits   were 
silenced.  Papal  and  Protestant.     God's  day  of 
holy  rest  was  annihilated,  and  the  Decade  in- 
stituted in  its  room.     And  what  was  the  con- 
sequence ?     Instructive,  beyond  exaggeration, 
instructive,  to  a  degree  which  language  is  too 
poor  to  express.     Subsequent  events  tell  what 
it  was.    The  guillotine  proclaims  it.    The  mur- 
derous band  stationed  at  the  prison  doors  pro- 
claims it.     A  voice   from   one  vast  slaughter- 
house of  men  proclaims  it.      France    herself, 
infatuated  as  she   Avas,  could  not  endure  the 
destitution.      Infidelity   could    not    endure   it. 
Atheism  staggered  and  fell  under  the  weight 
of  its  own  wickedness.      Every  thing  human 
tottered,  because  every  thing  perished  that  was 
divine.     Infidelity,  atheism,  and  France,  were 
obliged  to  fall  back  upon   institutions  which 
they  had  scorned,  seek  the  law  at  the  lips  of 
God's  ministers,  and  at  altars  Avhicli  they  had 
so  shamelessly  desecrated  and  profaned. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  fiction  of  our  hy- 
pothesis.    What  if  the  pulpits  of  this  land  were 


66  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

put  under  Papal  interdict  ?  What  if  some 
cruel  and  tyrannical  "  Act  of  Uniformity"  were 
to  exile  even  two  thousand  of  her  ministers  ? 
What  if  Papacy  should  procure  a  revocation 
of  the  charter 'that  gives  liberty  of  conscience, 
and  speech,  and  preaching  ?  or  Atheism  should 
pass  a  resolution  that  there  is  no  God,  and 
should  close  our  churches,  and  bid  us  all 
speak  no  more  in  his  name  ?  Tell  me,  ye  who 
rail  so  eloquently  at  God's  ministers,  have  you 
any  expedient  to  supply  the  chasm  ?  What 
fountains  of  life  have  you  to  open  in  the  desert, 
and  wdiat  trees  of  righteousness  to  plant  in 
the  parched  wilderness  ?  Drain  it  of  these 
waters,  if  you  will ;  burn  it  over,  if  you  will ; 
%nd  then  bear  in  mind  that  on  you  rests  the 
responsibility  of  reclaiming  it.  Piety  sickens 
at  such  a  view ;  humanity  weeps  over  it.  Such 
a  land  were  a  deliled  inheritance,  "given  to 
salt,  and  that  cannot  be  healed."  Let  infi- 
delity ever  become  so  rife  among  us,  and  so 
rampant  as  to  disrobe  our  ministry,  and  close 
our  churches ;  and  whatever  else  might  be  the 
result,  proof  would  not  be  wanting  that  moral 
X)0wer  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  land.  Let 
her  pulpits  be  closed  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  the  result  cannot  be  doubtful.  More  prac- 
tical evil  would  flow  from  such  a  destitution, 
than  from  all  other  causes  put  together.  Law 
would  vanish  with  religion.     No  corrupt  pro- 


THE   POWER   OP   THE   PULPIT.  67 

pensity  would  be  kept  under  restraint ;  there 
would  be  no  corrective,  and  no  limit  but  selfish- 
ness to  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart.  The 
virtuous  would  be  driven  to  despair,  and  the 
vicious  to  the  darkness  and  crimes  of  pagan- 
ism. It  would  be  a  Pagan  land,  dark  and 
dreary  as  though  the  Sun  of  righteousness  had 
never  risen  upon  it.  Owls  would  dwell  there, 
and  satyrs  would  dance  there;  and  around 
such  a  dreadful  cavern  of  iniquity,  the  dragons 
of  the  pit  would  linger  and  dwell  as  in  their 
own  habitation.  And  the  curse  of  God  would 
be  upon  it,  as  it  was  upon  Sodom;  and  he 
would  extirpate  the  inhabitants  of  it  as  he  did 
the  nations  of  Canaan.  His  judgments  would 
go  forth  against  it,  and  as  though  seven  thun- 
ders uttered  their  voices,  it  would  be  said  in 
heaven,  woe,  woe,  woe  to  the  land  that  is 

NOT  THE  LAND  OF  SABBATHS,  AND  CHURCHES, 
AND    ministers!" 

We  may  not  extend  these  illustrations.  The 
pulpit  speaks  for  itself.  There  it  stands,  nor  is 
it  possible  to  escape  its  influence.  Men  must 
not  only  go  out  of  the  sanctuary,  but  exile 
themselves  from  Christian  lands,  if  they  would 
avoid  its  influence.  Many  are  the  springs  of 
thouglit  which  it  sets  in  motion,  not  only  in  the 
bosoms  of  those  who  seek  its  instructions,  but 
of  those  who  never  come  within  hearing  of  the 
preacher's  voice.     The  mightiest  are  no  more 


68  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

exempt  from  it  than  llic  meanest,  tlie  most 
hostile  than  the  most  friendly.  Everywhere 
its  power  is  felt ;  it  acts  on  tiiem  for  eternity. 

Yes,  it  acts  on  them  for  eternity  !  The  years 
are  short  and  few.  Soon  will  it  be  know^n 
whether  it  has  been  to  them  a  savor  of  death 
unto  death,  or  a  savor  of  life  unto  life ;  whether 
the  seed  it  scatters  has  found  no  conjrenial  soil, 
and  has  become  petrilied  to  adamant,  or  whe- 
ther it  has  taken  root  and  struck  deep,  because 
it  is  nourished  by  the  waters  of  the  sanctuary. 

Different,  widely  diff'erent,  will  be  the  re- 
flections of  these  two  diff'erent  classes  of  per- 
sons as  they  look  back  upon  the  pulpit, — the 
one  from  the  bright,  the  other  from  the  dark 
abodes  of  the  eternal  w^orld. 

That  pidpit,  with  what  emotions  of  bitterness 
will  it  be  remembered  by  the  millions  of  the 
lost !  "  That  sanctuary  and  that  man  of  God," 
will  many  a  reprobate  in  the  prison  of  despair 
exclaim,  "  forewarned  me  of  this  dreadful  im- 
mortality, but  I  heeded  not  the  admonition. 
That  sacred  desk  told  me  of  redemption  through 
the  blood  of  Ja^us;  but  I  scorned  the  message, 
and  trod  that  blood  of  the  covenant  under  my 
feet.  I  might  have  been  happy  on  the  same 
gracious  and  condescending  terms  with  those 
I  now  see  at  God's  right  hand  ;  but  I  would 
not  come  to  Christ  that  I  might  have  life  !  And 
now  I  am  lost— lost — lost!     O  how  dreadful 


THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT.  69 

this  eternal  hell !  That  pulpit,  O  that  pulpit ! 
how  it  aggravates  my  woes !  Wliy  did  it 
speak  to  me  at  all,  if  only  thus  to  add  fuel  to 
these  flames !" 

On  the  other  hand,  there  will  be  those,  and 
"  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  num- 
ber," who  will  remember  the  influence  of  the 
pulpit  with  grateful  and  adoring  praise  to  Him, 
who  "  through  the  foolishness  of  preaching 
saves  them  that  believe."  That  house  of  God, 
how  many  will  remember  it  in  heaven  !  "  That 
pulpit,  which  looked  upon  me  when  I  was  a 
child,  which  taught  me  when  I  was  ignorant, 
and  reclaimed  me  when  I  was  a  wanderer ; 
which  reminded  me  of  my  wickedness,  and 
told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did ;  which  spake 
to  me  of  my  immortality,  and  made  me  tremble 
and  made  me  weep ;  never  can  it  be  blotted 
from  memory.  That  pulpit,  which  told  me  of 
a  Saviour's  love,  and  how  he  bled,  and  died, 
and  waited  to  long-suff'ering,  that  I  might  ac- 
cept his  saving  mercy;  which  comforted  me 
when  I  was  cast  down,  and  cheered  me  in  my 
fatigue ;  which  dissipated  my  delusions,  and 
helped  me  to  escape  the  snare  of  the  fowler; 
which  dispensed  to  me  the  bread  of  life  when 
I  was  hungry,  and  when  I  was  thirsty  gave 
me  the  waters  of  salvation ;  wliich  brought  its 
messages  of  peace  to  my  bed  of  languishing, 
soothed    my   acliing    head,    and   when   I   was 


70  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT 

dying,  told  mc  not  to  let  my  heart  be  trou- 
bled :" — That  jmlpit,  may  millions  now  in  glory 
say,  "  warned  me  of  yonder  iiery  prison,  and 
directed  me  to  these  mansions  in  my  Father's 
house  !" 


CHAPTER     VI. 

THE    TRUTH    OF    WHICH    THE    PULPIT    IS    THE    VEHICLE. 

We  have  thus  far  simply  illustrated  the  fact 
itself,  that  the  pulpit  has  power. 

From  its  divine  origin,  and  from  the  benev- 
olent ends  it  was  designed  to  accomplish,  it 
w^ould  be  natural  to  conclude  that  the  elements 
of  its  influence  possess  a  fitness  to  their  end, 
and  that,  in  some  respects,  they  are  above 
every  thing  that  is  human.  Our  object  is  now 
to  inquire,  what  are  the  constituent  el- 
ements or  THE  POWER  WITH  WHICH  IT  IS  THUS 
INVESTED  ? 

While  the  pulpit  possesses  all  that  belongs 
to  the  province  of  moral  suasion  in  its  ordinary 
and  best  forms,  it  has  peculiarities  which  the 
ordinary  forms  of  moral  suasion  do  not  possess. 
There  are  principles,  some  of  which,  at  least, 
account  for  the  power  it  exerts,  beyond  that 
which  is  exerted  by  any  other  means  of  intel- 
lectual conviction,  or  any  other  moral  influen- 
ces that  are  know^i  among  men. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  truth  itself^  of  which 
it  is  the  vehicle. 


72  THE   POWER   OF  THE   PULPIT. 

The  God  of  heaven  is  the  God  of  truth ; 
truth  is  infinitely  dear  to  his  pure  and  holy 
mind.  He  is  its  great  assertor  and  guardian; 
nor  will  he  he  respected,  loved,  and  oheyed, 
and  this  earth  filled  with  his  glory  until  it  is 
flooded  with  his  truth,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea.  The  Scriptures  instruct  us,  that  truth  is 
the  great  instrumentality  by  which  his  pur- 
poses of  mercy  are  accomplished ;  the  wisely 
selected  means  by  which  he  operates  ;  a  means 
well  adapted  to  the  end ;  nay,  the  necessary 
and  indispensable  means ;  because  truth  alone 
presents  the  only  objects  of  all  that  variety 
of  right  thoughts,  and  holy  affections  and  emo- 
tions which  constitute  true  religion.  The  pul- 
pit has  no  other  instrumentality.  It  has  ac- 
complished its  vocation,  when  it  has  fully, 
clearly,  and  with  a  right  spirit,  exhibited  the 
claims  of  truth.  The  factitious  and  artificial 
arrangements  which  have  been  so  extensively 
relied  on,  are  altogether  foreign  to  its  aims. 
Truth  is  that  to  which  there  is  a  response  in 
the  understanding  and  conscience  ;  w^hich  con- 
vinces even  where  it  does  not  persuade,  and 
confounds  where  it  does  not  control;  and 
which,  Avhere  it  controls,  becomes  "  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  and  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation." 

There  are  other  truths  which  have  a  different 
vehicle  ;  they  are  truths  which  intellect  honors, 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF   ITS   POWER.  73 

and  to  which  an  enlightened  moral  virtue  does 
reverence  ;  truth  Avhich,  while  it  has  its  own 
appropriate  sphere  of  influence,  is  an  impor- 
tant auxiliary  to  the  truth  proclaimed  from  the 
pulpit. 

There  is  no  conflict  between  the  truth  of  ' 
God's  word  and  any  other  truth  in  the  universe ; 
rather  is  there  a  delightful  harmony  between 
this  and  all  other  truth ;  they  form  one  beauti- 
fully compacted  system,  and  all  unite  in  pro- 
claiming the  perfection  and  giory  of  their  great 
Author.  The  Author  of  nature  is  the  Author 
of  a  supernatural  revelation ;  he  is  the  same 
Beins:,  and  o-overns  the  world  with  the  same 
unerring  wisdom  in  both  these  great  depart- 
ments. But  while  they  thus  confirm,  illustrate, 
and  adorn  each  other,  they  have  not  the  same 
place,  nor  are  they  revealed  for  the  same  im- 
mediate purposes.  The  pulpit  has  objects  of 
its  own ;  it  has  a  higher  and  more  sacred  voca- 
tion than  natural  science,  or  mere  human  learn- 
ing. It  is  emphatically  the  truth  of  God's  written 
word  which  it  utters,  and  which  he  has  revealed 
for  the  salvation  of  men. 

There  is  no  error  in  truth ;  light  is  not  more 
opposed  to  darkness,  sweet  to  bitter,  good  to 
evil,  than  truth  is  opposed  to  error.  Error  has 
power,  but  it  is  to  make  men  wicked  and  mis- 
erable. The  empire  of  the  great  Adversary  is 
founded  in  error ;  its  first  great  principle  was 

4 


74  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT, 

the  first  lie  ;  and  from  that  hour  to  the  present, 
it  has  been  extended  and  sustained  by  a  suc- 
cession of  flagitious  and  impudent  falsehood. 
The  luiman  mind  is  naturally  under  the  direc- 
tion of  error.  It  is  one  of  the  evils  to  which 
sin  has  subjected  the  descendants  of  the  first 
transgressor,  that  they  "  go  astray  from  the 
womb,  speaking  lies."  Error  is  a  sort  of  mag- 
net, which  attracts  to  it  all  wickedness ;  and 
such  and  so  strong  are  the  sympathies  between 
them,  that  all  the  practical  tendencies  of  the 
apostate  mind  invariably  fall  in  with  some  form 
of  error,  in  principle.  Pulpits  there  are  which 
are  the  teachers  of  error,  and  which  make  it 
their  business  to  cast  contempt  upon  all  the 
great  and  distinguishing  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
— But  they  are  not  Christian  pulpits ;  and  by 
how  much  they  have  power,  by  so  much  do 
they  derive  it  from  the  depraved  and  corrupt 
hearts  of  men,  and  from  the  Prince  of  error 
whom  they  serve.  It  is  his  cause  in  which 
they  are  employed. 

There  are  Christian  pulpits  too  which  have 
an  immingling  of  error  with  truth  ;  but  just  in 
the  measure  in  which  this  confusion  exists,  is 
the  power  of  truth  neutralized.  Good  is  often 
done  by  such  a  ministry ;  but  it  is  not  because 
there  is  any  amalgamation  between  truth  and 
error  ;  for  they  are  dilTerent  in  their  origin,  their 
nature,  and  their  effects.     The  chnfT  is  often 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF  ITS   POWER,         75 

severed  from  the  wheat,  even  where  they  are 
both  sown  broad-cast.  Where  the  mind  and 
conscience  are  awake  to  the  obligations  of  the 
Gospel,  they  are  sometimes  quick  to  discern 
the  difference,  and  to  cast  the  chaff  away.  It 
is  not  the  error  which  such  a  defective  ministry 
preaches  that  gives  it  power,  but  the  little  truth 
that  is  winnowed  from  the  mass,  by  that  Spirit 
"  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand." 

There  must  not  unfrequently  be  controversy 
in  the  pulpit ;  the  pulpit  is  the  place  where 
men  who  are  "  set  for  the  defence  of  the  Gos- 
pel" must  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints."  But  in  doing  this,  in 
doing  it  boldly  and  freely,  and  humbly  too, 
there  is  something  more  to  be  done  than  re- 
fute error,  and  prostrate  the  adversaries  of 
truth.  Very  little  is  accomplished  merely  by 
driving  the  enemy  from  his  refuges  of  lies ; 
he  must  be  intrenched  within  the  citadel  of 
truth,  and  induced  to  flee  to  the  strong-hold 
as  a  prisoner  of  hope.  The  sword  that  cuts 
him  in  pieces  is  not  always  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit.  The  enemies  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  found  vigorous  and  formidable  opponents 
in  the  pens  of  infidels ;  but  this  was  nothing 
more  than  error  contending  with  error ;  it  was 
of  comparatively  little  consequence  which  ban- 
ner was  victorious,  for  the  conqueror  was  him- 
self to  be  conquered.     There  were  two  men 


76  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

pfreatly  dislinguislicd  in  tlic  history  of  modern 
Europe,  Avliose  inlluence  upon  their  fellow-men 
is  felt  to  the  present  hour.  Both  began  their 
career  younn^  j  both  possessed  superior  powers 
of  mind,  and  great  moral  courage ;  both  were 
highly  educated  men,  one  in  the  severe  Uni- 
versities of  Germany,  the  other  in  the  more 
reiined  University  of  Paris;  and  both  well 
trained  for  the  part  they  acted.  Both  were 
thrown  upon  the  world  in  a  period  of  great 
moral  darkness  ;  a  period  during  which  Europe 
had  been  long  oppressed  by  the  odious  claims, 
the  corrupt  aristocracy,  and  the  debasing  insti- 
tutions of  the  Papal  Church,  inwoven  and  in- 
laid in  every  department  of  human  society, 
from  the  courts  of  princes,  to  the  humblest  do- 
mestic relations.  Both  also  had  the  same  im- 
mediate object — the  emancipation  of  the  human 
mind  from  the  bondage  of  Rome.  They  were 
intensely  exciting  scenes  into  the  midst  of 
which  these  two  remarkable  men  w  ere  intro- 
duced; for  within  the  memory  of  the  present 
and  past  generation,  no  events  have  taken 
place  of  greater  importance  than  the  great 
Protestant  Reformation,  and  the  memorable 
Revolution  in  France.  But  Luther  and  Vol- 
taire w^ere  very  diflcrent  men.  The  one  W'as 
impelled  by  that  atheistical  and  ruthless  fanati- 
cism which  was  the  precursor  of  the  "  reign  of 
terror ;"  the  other  by  a  firm  belief  and  ardent 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS    OF   ITS   POWER.  77 

love  of  the  truth  of  God.  Luther  was  actuated 
by  the  boldest,  the  most  steady,  the  noblest 
and  most  unselfish  motives  and  passions  ever 
known  to  fallen  humanity  since  the  days  of 
Paul;  Voltaire  too,  was  actuated  by  motives 
which  were  bold,  active,  persevering,  but  the 
most  reckless  and  vile.  Under  equally  strong- 
impulses,  with  the  same  sanguine  expectations 
of  success  rousing,  invigorating  all  their  pow- 
ers of  body  and  mind,  each  pursued  his  own 
chosen  and  different  way.  And  the  difference 
was  just  this.  Luther,  anticipating  moment- 
ous results  from  the  controversy,  controlled  by 
the  goodness,  not  simply  of  his  proximate,  but 
his  ultimate  object,  and  deeply  sensible  that  it 
was  much  easier  to  pull  down  than  to  build  up, 
and  much  more  difficult  to  implant  right  prin- 
ciples than  to  eradicate  wrong  ones,  took  great 
pains  to  build  up  before  he  began  to  pull  down. 
Voltaire,  reckless  of  the  future,  deaf  to  every 
cool  and  benevolent  consideration, — dead  to 
every  consideration  but  one,  did  nothing  but 
pull  down.  Luther  took  the  truth  of  God  for 
his  guide,  and  having  first  firmly  established  a 
few  radical  principles  of  Christianity  against 
all  the  confederate  counsels  of  princes,  legates, 
and  synods,  held  them  forth,  and  gave  them  to. 
Rome,  against  the  time  of  need,  when  her  own 
rotten  bulwarks  and  proud  towers  should  fall. 
And  having  thus  laid  his  foundation,  and  indi- 


78  THE   POWER  OP  THE    PULPIT. 

catcd  it  to  Europe,  he  levelled  blow  after  blow 
against  Uome,  and  tore  up  her  decayed  battle- 
ments, leaving  her  the  word  of  God  to  stand 
upon.     Voltaire  saw  the  absurdities,  and  felt 
the  evils  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  well  as  Lu- 
ther, and  was  resolved  on  some  radical  trans- 
formation, if  not  reform.     But  the  change  he 
aimed  at  was  without  truth,  without  religion, 
without  God.     "  An  evil  spirit  troubled  him ;" 
he  had  not  the  foresight,  or  if  he  had  the  fore- 
sight, he  had  not  the  moral  principle,  to  per- 
ceive that,  in  destroying  the  religion  of  Rome, 
and  giving  France  nothing  in  its  stead,  the  re- 
sult would  be  the  most  inhuman  violence  and 
barbarity.    He  defamed  the  Bible,  trod  it  under 
his  feet,  and  then  spit  upon  and  besmeared  it. 
He  professed  to  enlighten  the  minds  of  men, 
but  threw  over  them  the  pall  of  darkness  and 
death ;  he  professed  to  be  the  people's  friend, 
but  was  their  malignant  enemy.     He  shut  his 
ears  against  plain  and  conclusive  argument,  yet 
made  his  appeal  to  reason,  dark,  proud  reason ; 
he  deified  her,  and  the  nation,  by  solemn  leg- 
islative   enactments,   resolved    tliat   she    was 
God!     Paris,  like  the  city  of  Ephesus  of  old, 
was  filled  with  confusion,  "  some   crying  one 
thing,  and    some   another,"  till   at  length  the 
populace,  impersonating  tlie  goddess  of  reason, 
rushed  to  Notre  Dame,  with  a  vile  prostitute 
on  their  shoulders,  set  her  in  the  midst  of  God's 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF   ITS    POWER.  79 

temple,  and  all  called  out  for  the  space  of  two 
hours,  "  There  is  no  God  hut  reason,  and  death  is 
an  eternal  sleep /"  Voltaire  gained  his  object. 
The  mind  of  France  was  liberated  from  Rome  ; 
he  had  knocked  off  its  fetters, — it  was  free.  No 
man  ever  accomplished  his  object  more  effect- 
ually. So  did  Luther  accomplish  his  object ; 
he  accomplished  it  manfully  ;  he  revolutionized 
Germany,  and  other  countries  of  Europe,  and 
left  the  human  mind  free.  The  deeds  of  these 
two  men  are  done ;  the  scenes  are  past ;  and 
we,  at  this  distance  of  time,  can  look  at  them. 
The  fruit  has  had  time  to  grow  and  become 
ripe ;  and  what  is  it  ?  Look  at  the  effects  of 
that  controversy  conducted  by  Luther,  in  Ger- 
many, Britain,  Switzerland,  Prussia,  and  even 
France  itself;  in  the  iron-bound  coast  and 
granite  hills  of  New  England;  in  the  Hollanders 
and  Huguenots  of  New  Jersey  and  the  South- 
ern States,  and  the  fermenting,  swelling  mass, 
of  every  name  and  kind,  that  are  spreading  be- 
tween the  Alleghany  and  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
We  can  see  also  the  effects  of  that  disastrous 
revolution  effected  by  Voltaire  ;  some  of  us  re- 
member it,  and  the  deep  knell  that  sounded  it 
to  Europe  and  the  world,  still  sounds  in  our 
ears.  Romanism  was  destroyed  in  France,  but 
there  was  nothing  left,  save  selfish,  violent, 
cruel  passion,  rioting  in  cruelty.  Tlie  lion  was 
unchained,  and  the  hands  that  unchained  him 


80  TIIF,    POWRR   OF   THE    PULPIT. 

were  tlie  victims  of  liis  fury.  A  fire  was  kin- 
dled tliat  notliinu:  could  put  out;  it  wasted  it- 
self, and  the  land  was  bunit  over.  Every  thing 
was  destroyed;  religion,  morality,  the  marriage 
bond,  kings,  law,  order,  priests  and  altars,  even 
liberty  itself — every  thing  was  involved  in  the 
universal  ruin.  Voltaire  "  made  a  desert,  and 
called  it  peace."  It  was  a  desert  truly,  such  a 
moral  wilderness,  created  in  a  Christian  land, 
as  the  world  had  never  seen  before,  nor  since ; 
it  was  carnage,  it  was  the  reform  of  infidelity. 
It  records  a  lesson  which  all  subsequent  ages 
will  read, — that  men  may  be  mighty  controver- 
sialists, and  move  mighty  minds,  and  mighty 
nations ;  but  if  they  do  nothing  more  than  tri- 
umph over  their  prostrate  foe,  they  accomplish 
nothing  for  the  honor  of  God,  or  the  best  inter- 
ests of  their  fellow  men. 

If  there  must  be  errors  in  the  world,  it  is 
that  "  the  truth  may  be  made  manifest."  Error 
is  the  cloud  that  envelopes  the  truth ;  it  is  of 
no  service  that  the  cloud  be  dissipated,  unless 
truth  be  made  to  shine  with  the  greater  brill- 
iancy. The  pulpit  had  better  have  nothing  to 
do  with  error,  unless  it  be  exposed  and  refuted 
with  so  masterly  a  hand,  that,  like  a  thin  leaf 
of  dull  metal,  placed  under  precious  stones  to 
make  them  appear  the  more  transparent,  it  is 
made  the  "  foil  of  truth."  It  is  pure  truth 
which  it  inculcates,  unless  it  goes  out  of  its 


CONSTITUENT  ELEMENTS   OF   ITS    POWER.  81 

province  ;  it  is  truth  positive,  and  not  simply 
errors  refuted.  There  is  no  saving  power  but 
in  God's  truth. 

Tlie  pulpit  also  has  a  conflict  with  ignorance. 
No  absolutely  vacant  mind  can  be  a  holy  mind ; 
even  if  it  has  no  errors,  and  is  simply  denuded 
of  every  religious  truth,  it  cannot  be  holy.  If 
we  expect  fruit,  Ave  must  plant  the  tree  that  is 
to  bear  it ;  it  will  not  grow  unless  it  is  planted, 
any  more  than  after  it  is  planted  it  will  grow 
among  thorns.  Whatever  agency  the  pulpit 
exerts,  it  exerts  through  light, — light  poured 
upon  the  understanding,  illuminating  the  con- 
science, and  penetrating  and  perforating  the 
gloomy  prison  of  the  heart.  The  prince  of 
darkness  holds  his  empire  over  all  the  liiculties 
of  the  soul ;  and  nothing  disturbs  it  so  certainly 
as  truth.  He  would  fain  amuse  men  Avith  fa- 
bles, perplex  them  Avith  sophistry,  bind  them 
by  tradition,  hold  them  in  bondage  by  the  de- 
crees of  Popes  and  Councils,  and  present  his 
claims  before  his  aAve-stricken  hearers,  sur- 
rounded in  clouds  and  darkness.  Truth  dis- 
claims all  such  appeals  to  human  ignorance  and 
superstition ;  her  object  is  to  instruct  and  con- 
vince. Men  never  Avere  made  Christians  in 
any  other  AA-ay  than  on  conviction.  Nor  does 
the  Christian  pulpit  desire  to  make  them  Chris- 
tians in  any  other  Avay.  It  has  no  oracular  de- 
cisions, save  when  it  utters  the  oracles  of  God. 

4* 


82  THE   POWEH  0I-'   TITR   PULPIT. 

Wliatcver  deference  may  be  solicited  for  its 
instructions,  no  other  is  claimed  for  them  than 
that  which  is  the  result  of  sober  and  enlight- 
ened thoui;:ht,  and  Avhich  is  called  for  by  a 
sense  of  responsibility  to  God  alone.  It  is  for 
"  lack  of  knowledge''  that  the  people  are  de- 
stroyed ;  it  is  "  throu2:h  the  ignorance  that  is  in 
them,  because  of  the  blindness  of  their  heart;" 
it  is  because  "  they  do  not  know,  and  will  not 
consider;"  because  they  "are  a  generation 
which  know  not  the  Lord;"  because  "they 
hated  knowledge  ;''  because  they  count  not  "  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  knowledge  of  Christ ;" 
because  they  come  not  "  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,"  and  are  ever  "  a  people  of  no  under- 
standing''' There  is  ineffable  splendor  in  God's 
truth;  and  where  these  bright  rays  have  no 
access  to  the  soul,  the  light  of  it  is  put  out, 
and  it  is  "  reserved  to  the  blackness  of  dark- 
ness forever."  The  truth  proclaimed  from 
the  pulpit  has  wondrous  efficacy  in  dissipating 
these  dense  and  heavy  mists  of  ignorance. 
They  are  "  manifestations  of  the  sovereign 
intelligence,"  and  have  "  a  glow  of  divinity" 
about  them,  before  which  this  intellectual 
darkness,  and  these  thick  vapors,  are  exhaled 
and  dispelled.  Erect  a  pulpit  in  the  dark  wil- 
derness, where  the  man  of  God  shall  stand, 
thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work  ;  and  though 
it  stand  alone,  its  light  shall  be  seen  from  afar, 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF    ITS   POWER.  83 

and  the  beniglited  and  lost  traveller  shall  hail 
it  with  joy.  Multiply  such  pulpits,  scatter  them 
in  clusters,  and  the  desert  would  become  like' 
the  Goshen  of  Israel,  amid  the  thick  darkness 
of  Egypt. 

The  truth  of  which  the  pulpit  is  the  vehicle, 
has  also  a  contest  with  something  more  than 
error  and  ignorance.  At  the  threshold  of  its 
career,  there  is  the  insensate  stupidity,  and  the 
deeply  imbedded  hostility  of  the  human  mind. 
Indifferent  to  its  claims  as  long  as  it  can  be,  it 
resists  them  when  it  can  no  longer  maintain 
its  indifference.  Truth  has  an  energy  to  dis- 
turb and  wake  up  this  almost  imperturbable 
indifference.  Single-handed  and  alone,  it  can- 
not subdue  this  hostility  ;  but  it  can  check  it ; 
it  can  show  its  deformity  and  ugliness ;  it  can 
throw  around  it  those  bonds  of  obligation, 
which  nothing  can  relax,  and  bind  by  convic- 
tions which  it  is  impossible  to  struggle  with 
without  a  contest  that  is  sometimes  painful, 
even  to  despair.  For  this  it  has  a  iitness  in 
its  subject  matter,  and  in  the  excellence,  the 
force,  the  grandeur  of  its  themes.  They  are 
lofty  and  subduing  themes  ;  themes  which  the 
preacher  cannot  approach  without  a  feeling 
of  solemnity,  nor  without  some  consciousness 
at  least,  that  they  bear  him  away  from  the 
narrow  limits  of  earth,  and  the  circumscribed 
sphere  of  time.     Nor  are  they  "  smooth  things," 


84  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

but  "  liglil  tliinj^s,"  Avhicli  are  never  smooth. 
There  is  not  one  of  them,  rightly  understood, 
that  is  fitted  to  please  and  gratify  a  mind  that 
is    enmity   against    God.      They   are   weighty 
and  solemn  truths,  "  hard  sayings/'  and  never 
agreeable  to  the  corrupted  taste  of  men.     They 
do  not  fall  in  with  their  natural  love  of  error; 
they  destroy  their  good  opinion  of  themselves ; 
they  oppose  their  worldly  projects,  and  render 
them  unhappy.     They  are  universally  obnox- 
ious, except  to  pious  and  humble  men.     To  all 
others  it  is  a  hardship  to  hear  them,   and  a 
greater  hardship  to  be  under  obligations  to  be- 
lieve and  love  them.    Give  the  pulpit  a  hearing, 
and  it  has  truths  to  utter  which  will  arouse 
men  to  fear  and  trembling.     It  has  so  many 
painful  and  unwelcome  things  to  say,  that  the 
preacher  must  often  brace  his  nerves  to  meet 
fierce   opposition,  and  clothe  himself  with  su- 
perhuman   meekness   and    humility.      It    has 
nothing  to   do  with  suppressing,  or  modifyino- 
the  truth  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  pleasing  men. 
The  trust  is   too   awful,   the   experiment  too 
hazardous,  either   to   blunt   the    edge    of    the 
sword,  or  throw  away  any  part  of  the  divine 
armor.     When,  with  the  simplicity  of  depend- 
ence on  God,  these  weapons  are  faithfully  and 
skilfully  used,  they  constitute  the  parts  of  that 
heavenly  panoply  which  find   the  most  ready 
access  to  the  conscience.     They  are  aimed  at 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF   ITS   POWER.  85 

the  heart.  Tliey  are  designed  to  search  and 
try  the  characters  of  men,  and  they  make  fear- 
ful discriminations  between  "  him  that  serveth 
God  and  him  that  serveth  him  not."  They 
"  take  forth  the  precious  from  the  vile,"  and 
say  to  the  righteous,  that  "  it  shall  he  well 
with  him,"  and  "  woe  unto  the  wicked,  it  shall 
be  ill  with  him." 

The  Scriptures  do  not  presume  on  an  unre- 
sisted course  for  the  truth  of  God.  They  fore- 
see vigorous  opposition ;  but  their  language  to 
every  religious  teacher  is,  "  Be  not  dismayed  at 
their  faces  ;" — "  speak  all  that  I  command  thee 
to  speak,  diminish  not  a  word ;" — "  speak  all 
my  words,  whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether 
they  will  forbear."  This  the  Apostles  did. 
They  did  not,  as  many  do,  "  corrupt  the  word 
of  God  ;"  their  exhortation  "  was  not  of  deceit, 
nor  of  uncleanness,  nor  of  guile  ;"  they  "  spake 
as  of  the  oracles  of  God,"  and  as  men  who 
"  feared  not  them  which  could  kill  the  body, 
but  rather  him  who  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul 
and  body  in  hell."  They  went  forth  as  "  sheep 
in  the  midst  of  wolves,"  assured  that  it  was 
"  enough  for  the  disciple  to  be  as  his  Master, 
and  the  servant  as  his  Lord ;"  all  of  them 
"  brethren  and  companions  in  tribulation,  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ." 
A  faithful  preacher  of  the  Gospel  scarcely  fails 
to   produce   uneasiness   and  dissatisfaction    in 


80  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

the  minds  of  the  llioiig-litless;  even  the  most 
thoun;lillt'ss  not  iiiifreqHently  have  paiiiliil  and 
distressing  views  of  the  trutli,  because  they 
are  sensible  of  tlic  oblij^ations  which  it  enfor- 
ces, and  the  everlasting  consequences  which  it 
draws  after  it.  The  time  is  past  when  they 
care  nothing  about  it ;  and  if  tliey  contest  and 
abuse  it,  if  they  cavil,  and  complain,  and  resist,* 
if  they  do  all  in  their  power  to  throw  off  its 
obligations ;  it  is  but  augmented  proof  of  its 
power;  the  more  they  struggle  against  it,  the 
faster  does  it  bind  them  in  its  chains. 

Nor  is  this  all  which  the  truth  accomplishes. 
"  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting 
the  soul ;  the  testimonies  of  the  Lord  are  sure, 
making  wise  the  simple."  God  leads  some 
in  gentler  ways,  and  by  milder  methods  than 
others;  yet  are  the  struggles  of  the  carnal 
mind  ordinarily  the  death-struggles,  the  throes 
of  expiring  nature,  when  grace  introduces  the 
new-born  soul  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Truth 
is  the  instrumentality  in  its  conversion.  "  Of 
his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truths 
Being  born  again,  "  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God.''  "  I  have 
begotten  you,  through  the  Gospel^  Since  religion 
consists  in  "  receiving  the  truth  in  the  love  of 
it,"  it  cannot  be  received  in  love  unless  it  be 
present  to  the  thoughts,  unless  its  obligations 
are  perceived  and  felt  by  the  conscience,  unless 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OP   ITS   POWER.  87 

its  beauty  and  loveliness  be  recognized  and 
acquiesced  in  by  the  gratilied  affections.  There 
is  no  better  definition  of  spiritual  and  practical 
Christianity,  than  that  it  is  the  counterpart  of 
truth  in  the  heart  and  in  the  life.  It  is  the 
fruit  of  God's  Spirit  operating  by  his  truth,  and 
producing  in  the  once  alienated  heart  that  de- 
lightful reconciliation  to  its  nature  and  claims 
which  constitutes  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of 
man.  It  is  the  image  of  the  heavenly,  where, 
but  just  now,  there  was  nothing  but  the  image 
of  the  earthly.  It  is  the  loveliest  exhibition  of 
the  power  of  truth,  wJien  men  "  ghidly  receive 
the  word," — the  "  ingrafted  word,  which  is 
able  to  save  the  soul ;"  when  the  darkened  un- 
derstanding is  illuminated,  and  the  truth  is  thus 
understood  and  received.  The  Gospel  comes, 
then,  "  not  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power, 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance." 
It  comes  with  peace  and  joy.  It  binds  up  the 
heart,  it  comforts  the  mourner,  it  sets  the  cap- 
tive free.  It  solaces  the  soul  with  divine  love; 
it  shows  it  the  pnth  of  life;  it  begets  it  to  a 
"  living  hope  of  an  inheritance,  incorruptible, 
undefiled,  and  which  fadeth  not  away." 

Nor  does  the  truth  leave  its  work  unfinished. 
The  whole  progress  of  sanctification,  in  all  its 
parts  and  varieties,  and  in  all  the  varieties  of 
character  in  which  it  is  effected,  is  not  only  con- 
sulted, but  promoted  by  God's  truth.   "  Scmctifij 


88  THE   POWER   OF   TIIR   PUT^PIT. 

tlit'in  (liroii;;!!  ihy  (nilli."  Tnitli  is  tlie  aliment 
of  every  ji^rjicious  |)iiiicij)l(%  and  every  i^racious 
exercise.  Tlie  Christian  lives  ujxjuit;  he  i^rows 
in  i^race,  us  he  li^rows  in  knowledge.  It  is  a 
"feast  of  lat  things"  to  the  soul,  of  "wines  on 
the  lees;  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of  wines 
on  the  lees  well  refnied."  Thus  fed  and  nour- 
ished, instead  of  pining  away,  and  dragging 
out  a  pale  and  sickly  existence,  it  "  flourishes 
like  the  palm-tree,  and  grows  like  the  cedar  in 
Lebanon  ;"  adv^ances  in  holiness  and  is  com- 
forted in  hope,  till  it  "  reaches  the  stature  of 
the  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus." 

In  estimating  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  there- 
fore, we  give  the  first  place  to  the  truth  of 
which  it  is  the  vehicle.  Depraved  as  men  are, 
they  are  controlled  by  moral  causes,  rather 
than  by  those  that  are  physical ;  and  now  here 
are  these  moral  causes  so  concentrated,  no- 
w^here  have  they  so  ready  access  to  the  liuman 
mind,  and  from  no  other  source  do  they  flow 
out  in  so  many  thousand  channels,  sometimes 
in  streamlets  that  cherish  the  solitary  and 
drooping  plant,  and  sometimes  in  rivers  that 
overflow  the  plain,  as  from  this  mountain  of 
the  Lord's  house. 

But  what  is  truth  ?  Let  a  thinking  man,  after 
a  day  of  wearied  and  anxious  toil,  throw  him- 
self upon  his  pillow,  and  ask  this  question  ;  and 
he  may  indulge  in  almost  endless  reverie.     He 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OF   ITS    POWER.  89 

will  look  up  to  the  heavens,  and  as  lie  watches 
the  stars,  and  sees  the  moon  walking  in  her 
brightness,  he  will  almost  involuntarily  exclaim, 
Thei'e  is  truth.  He  reads  lessons  there  which 
he  can  understand.  He  will  look  over  the 
earth,  scan  its  mountains  and  A^alleys,  and  mea- 
sure its  streams  ;  he  will  survey  the  blue  ocean, 
where,  at  the  presence  of  God,  the  "  deep  ut- 
ters his  voice,  and  lifts  up  his  hands  on  high ;" 
and  he  will  say,  There  too  is  truth,  thrilling 
truth,  uttered  by  the  voice  of  Him  who  "  laid 
the  beams  of  his  chambers  upon  the  mighty 
waters,  and  walks  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind." 
He  will  inspect  the  dominion  of  an  all-govern- 
ing Providence,  and  there  he  will  see  in  legible 
and  dark  characters  the  notices  which  the  right- 
eous Arbiter  has  imprinted  of  himself.  He  will 
think  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  empires,  of  earth- 
quakes, pestilence,  famine,  war,  and  death, — 
relentless  death.  And  he  will  say,  that  is  truth. 
— terrible  truth !  It  were  no  marvel,  if  his 
heart  should  sicken  at  such  a  view.  His  mind 
is  enveloped  in  a  shroud ;  it  is  wrapt  in  a  pall 
of  darkness.  Truth  here  is  denuded  of  her 
loveliness  ;  it  is  gloomy,  horrible  truth.  Yet 
is  it  truth, — indisputable  truth.  There  is  no 
scepticism  here.  Men  cannot  dispute  about 
such  truths  as  these.  They  see  them ;  they 
know  them ;  they  feel  them.  And  this  is  just 
where  the  Bible  places  man,  untaught  and  un- 


90  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

illumined  by  brifi:]itcr  liulits  than  these.  He 
is  in  darkness.  These  truths  are  terrible,  be- 
cause they  have  the  reality,  the  permanence, 
the  majesty  of  truth;  it  is  this  which  gives 
tliem  all  their  force.  They  are  truths  so  obvi- 
ous that  men  do  not  oppose  them.  The  deist 
and  the  infidel  believe  them.  They  constitute 
the  basis  of  their  religion ;  dark  as  they  are, 
they  are  truths  they  cling  to,  and  defend, 
though  at  the  expense  of  undermining  another 
and  more  complete  superstructure. 

Amid  such  reflections,  it  were  no  marvel  if 
the  thought  should  occur  to  the  wakeful  mind 
of  the  inquirer,  that  there  must  be  another 
manifestation  of  the  truth,  in  order  to  relieve 
the  mind, — to  relieve  the  world  from  this  dread- 
ful pressure.  Then  perhaps  he  will  think  of 
the  Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  in  the 
cool  of  the  day,  and  of  that  early  and  impreg- 
nated promise ;  and  he  will  feel  the  burden 
lightened,  and  will  exclaim  with  joy,  That  too 
is  truth.  Then  he  will  think  of  Moses  receiv- 
ing the  law  from  God  in  the  mount,  amid  the 
thunderings,  and  the  lightnings,  and  the  voice 
of  words;  and  then  another  law,  both  com- 
bined in  one,  through  which  this  newly  man- 
ifested truth  receives  the  sanction  and  tlie  seal 
of  that  everlasting  covenant,  which  is  ordered 
in  all  things,  and  sure.  Here  in  this  early  age 
of  the  w  orld,  that  truth  began  its  course,  which 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS    OF   ITS   POWER.         91 

glimmered  in  types  and  shadows,  and  sacrifices, 
all  pointing  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  He  fmds 
these  prefigurations  perpetuated  from  age  to 
age,  illustrated  by  predictions,  of  which  Christ 
is  the  object ;  fortified  by  promises  of  which 
Christ  is  the  fulfilment ;  all  and  every  one  of 
them  recognizing  Christ  as  the  medium  of  ac- 
cess to  the  injured  Deity,  the  channel  of  all 
his  grace  and  mercy,  having  himself  obtained 
them,  merited  them,  and,  through  the  efficacy 
of  his  obedience  unto  death,  became  the  dis- 
penser of  them  to  fallen  man.  Here  his  restive 
mind  finds  repose.  He  has  found  the  truth, — 
the  "  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  Life  and  immor- 
tality are  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel ;  and 
he  presses  to  his  bosom  that  wondrous  system 
of  truth  which  is  the  light  and  the  life  of  men. 
Yet,  strange  to  say,  though  this  is  the  only 
truth  which  sheds  light  on  the  path  of  man,  it 
is  that  which  must  needs  be  enforced  by  all 
the  power  of  argument  and  persuasion.  Ob- 
scure truths  interest  men.  Nature's  light, 
which  tells  them  of  the  grave  ;  and  reason's 
flickering  lamp,  they  will  follow,  even  though  it 
goes  out  at  the  tomb,  and  conducts  them  to  a 
dark  eternity.  It  is  not  with  darkness,  death, 
and  despair  that  they  have  any  contest.  "  They 
have  loved  darkness."  It  is  light  that  they 
quarrel  with ; — with  life,  with  hope,  with  im- 
mortality, and  eternal  glory. 


92  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

Yet  is  (liis  tlic  truth  which  gives  the  pulpit 
all  its  power.  Its  facts,  its  doctrines,  its  du- 
ties, its  scrutiny,  its  rehukes,  its  invitations,  its 
threatenings,  its  promises,  its  consolations,  its 
motives,  its  worship,  its  ordinances,  and  more 
than  all,  its  atoning  Saviour,  himself  the  be- 
ginning and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last, — 
this  is  the  truth  which  constitutes  the  power 
of  the  pulpit.  "  I  have  determined  to  know 
nothing  among  you,"  says  the  great  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  ^'  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  cruci- 
fied.^^ The  pulpit  is  powerless  where  the 
cross  of  Christ  is  not  maijnified.  Christ  must 
be  the  theme,  the  scope,  the  life,  the  soul  of 
the  pulpit.  It  may  have  the  subtilties  of  phi- 
losophy, the  attainments  of  accomplished  lit- 
erature, and  the  enticing  words  which  man's 
"  wisdom  teacheth  ;"  but  it  has  no  powerful 
attraction  of  God's  truth,  where  Christ  is  want- 
ing. The  preacher  may  not  hope  to  see  the 
strong  cords  of  earth  broken,  the  fetters  of 
gold  dissolved,  or  any  of  the  fascinations  of  sin 
disturbed  by  wdiich  the  spell-bound  mind  is 
held  in  bondage,  until  he  throw^s  around  it  the 
stronger  attractions  of  redeeming  love.  There 
is  wondrous  powder  in  the  pulpit  where  the 
cross  is  lifted  up,  and  where,  instead  of  attract- 
ing men  to  himself,  the  minister  of  God  Avould 
fain  attract  them  to  his  and  their  Saviour. 
What  savors  not  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  belongs 


CONSTITUENT  ELEMENTS  OF  ITS   POWER.  93 

not  to  the  work  of  a  Christian  minister.  A 
sinner,  saved  by  grace,  who  is  a  preacher  of 
glad  tidings  to  his  fellow-men,  will  keep  as 
near  the  cross  as  he  can.  He  may  sometimes 
make  a  larger  circuit  around  it  tlian  at  others, 
because  it  unfolds  "  the  depth  of  the  riches 
both  of  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of 
God ;"  but  his  favorite  themes  are  drawn  from 
it,  and  the  arrows  he  makes  the  most  use  of  are 
dipped  in  its  blood.  "  Christ  is  my  armory," 
says  that  lovely  preacher,  McCheyne,  "  I  go  to 
him  for  the  whole  armor  of  God, — the  armor 
of  light.  My  sword  and  my  buckler,  my  sling 
and  my  stone  are  all  laid  up  in  Jesus."  In  no 
other  way  can  the  dark,  depraved,  obdurate 
mind  be  brought  under  the  enlightening,  con- 
vincing, converting,  sustaining,  purifying  in- 
fluence of  God's  truth. 

Such  truth  has  power.  It  is  "  mighty 
throu2:h  God."  It  is  truth  in  all  its  forms,  offi- 
ces,  and  urgency.  It  is  truth  demonstrated, 
illustrated,  embellished,  and  enforced.  It  is 
rousing,  convincing,  transforming  truth.  It  is 
truth  pleading  with  the  obdurate,  encouraging 
the  discouraged  and  desponding,  comforting 
sorrow,  and  giving  exultation  and  triumph  to 
hope.  It  is  truth  rebuking,  truth  weeping, 
truth  rejoicing.  It  is  truth  in  full-robed  love- 
liness and  glory,  shining  on  the  darkness  of 
time,  and  discovering  the  strong  and  steady 


94  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

liirlit  of  eternity,  liftins:  the  veil  from  the  hab- 
itations of  the  second  death, — travelling  on  to- 
wards glory,  honor,  immortality  and  eternal 
life. 

Such  truth  has  power,  and  it  is  the  power 
the  pulpit  aims  at.  It  asks  not  any  other 
triumphs,  it  seeks  the  glory  of  no  other  em- 
pire. It  craves  the  privilege  of  carrying  the 
light  of  heaven  to  this  dark  and  dungeon  earth, 
and  of  lighting  up  the  beacon  of  hope  in  this 
world  of  despair.  Give  it  this,  and  all  other 
influences  combined  do  not  accomplish  a  tithe 
of  that  which  is  accomplished  by  this  simple 
instrumentality.  Other  influences  are  as  widely 
diflerent  from  this  as  the  Avords  of  men  from 
the  words  of  God, — as  the  powers  of  earth  from 
the  powers  of  heaven.     There  is  nothing  like  it 

in  this  low  world. 

Beautiful,  unutterably  beautiful,   are    these 

achievements  of  truth.     What  wonders  has  it 

wrought  ?     Greater  are  its  victories  than  were 

ever  won  on  the   field  of  battle  ;    its  laurels 

greener   than   ever   Caesar    wore.      God   hath 

given  his  truth  a  tongue  ;  it  may  be  the  tongue 

of  the  learned,  or  the  tongue  of  artless,  but 

elTcctive  expostulation;  but  it  is  expostulation 

which  every  heart  feels  that  is  not  like  a  rock 

of  granite.     Nay,  adamant  as  it  is,  God's  truth 

is  the    "  fire  and  the  hammer   that  brcaketh 

the  rock  in  pieces."     It  is  the  "  rod  of  God's 


CONSTITUENT   ELEMENTS   OP   ITS   POWER.  95 

Strength'"  which  he  sent  out  of  Zion.  It  is 
the  "  sword  of  the  Spirit"  which  the  Mighty 
Conqueror  girds  on  when  he  rides  forth  to  his 
most  brilliant  victories ;  it  is  the  inscription  on 
his  banner,  when  he  returns  from  the  field  of 
triumph. 


CHAPTER    VI  I. 


THE    LIVING    TEACHER. 


While  the  truth  of  which  tlie  pulpit  is  the 
vehicle,  is  in  the  order  of  time  and  nature,  the 
first  great  element  of  its  power,  it  is  not  truth 
presented  in  every  form.  Among  the  constit- 
uent elements  of  its  usefulness  must  undoubt- 
edly be  reckoned  the  fact,  that  the  selected 
method  hy  ichich  it  communicates  Gods'  truth  is 
the  living  teacher. 

The  earliest  communications  to  men  were 
not  made  by  written  documents,  nor  by  the 
press.  Our  hrst  parents  were  not,  as  some 
have  supposed,  the  rude  children  of  nature, 
nor  were  they  untaught.  It  was  the  paternal 
voice  of  God  that  fell  with  such  impressiveness 
upon  their  listening  and  obedient  ear,  before 
their  apostasy.  It  was  also  through  this  chan- 
nel that  the  subtle  Deceiver  conveyed  his 
poison ;  the  snare  was  laid  by  whispering  his 
word  of  promise  to  the  ear. 

For  the  first  twenty-five  hundred  years  after 
the  creation,  all  the  revelations  from  Heaven, 
with  the  few  exceptions  of  supernatural  dreams. 


THE    LIVING    TEACHER.  97 

visions,  and  reveries,  were  conveyed,  either 
from  the  lips  of  God  himself,  or  from  angelic, 
or  human  voices.  Very  often  the  angels  of 
God  were  sent  from  heaven  to  hold  converse 
with  worms ;  and  face  to  face,  to  utter  to  men 
the  messages  of  Divine  instruction,  rebuke, ' 
and  mercy.  During  the  long  period  between 
Adam  and  Moses,  these  divine  communications 
were  made  in  no  other  way.  We  have  no  au- 
thentic proof  of  the  introduction  of  alphabetical 
writing  prior  to  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Mount 
Sanai,  or  even  prior  to  the  date  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch. To  make  a  permanent  revelation  of 
His  will  to  men,  it  was  necessary  that  it  should 
be  in  writing  ;  so  that  it  might  remain  as  the 
exhaustless  depository,  and  unchanging  stand- 
ard of  truth,  unmingled  with  the  fictions  of 
men,  uncorrupted  by  fable,  and  independent 
of  the  uncertainties  of  tradition.  But  the  in- 
structions that  were  designed  for  umnediate  effect 
were  communicated  in  a  way  better  fitted  to 
arrest  the  attention,  and  less  liable  to  perver- 
sion and  abuse. 

We  find  so  many  representations  of  this  sort 
in  the  Scriptures,  that  it  is  almost  superfluous 
to  refer  to  them.  "  God  S2:)ake  to  Jacob  at 
Bethel."  "  God  spake  all  these  words,  saying, 
I  am  the  Lord."  "  The  Lord  our  God  spake 
unto  us  in  Horeb."  He  spake  to  Abraham; 
he  spake  in  the  bush  to  Moses  ;  he  spake  to  the 

5 


$8  THE  POWER   OF   THE    PULPIT. 

Prophets,  and  lliroiiiih  llicm  he  spake  to  his 
people.  I  do  not  know  that  we  find  the  phra- 
seology anywhere  in  the  Scriptures,  that  he 
wrote  to  his  ancient  people,  that  all  Israel  might 
read ;  but  w^e  do  find  tiic  phraseology,  that  he 
spalie  to  them,  and  commanded  others  to  sjyeak 
to  them,  "  so  that  all  Israel  might  hear.''' 

Wlien  Moses  expressed  his  reluctance  to 
appear  before  Pharaoh,  it  was  because  he  was 
conscious  that  he  "  was  slow  of  speech  and  of 
a  slow  tongue."  He  had  every  other  qualifica- 
tion and  attainment,  which  Egyptian  and  Di- 
vine learning  could  give;  but  he  had  not  the 
faculty  of  uttering  in  an  impressive  manner 
what  he  knew.  When  God  directed  him  to 
associate  Aaron  in  this  embassy,  the  reason 
he  gave  for  this  arrangement  was  the  qualifi- 
cations of  Aaron  as  a  public  speaker: — "for  I 
know  that  he  can  speak  well."  It  would 
seem,  that  in  the  judgment  of  Infinite  wisdom, 
truth  must  be  spoken,  and  well  spoken,  in  order 
to  have  its  proper  effect. 

That  they  might  make  a  deeper  impression 
still,  not  unfrequently  these  Divine  communi- 
cations w^ere  reduced  to  rythm,  and  sung;  as 
in  the  Song  of  Moses  at  the  Red  Sea,  and  the 
Song  of  Deborah,  and  the  Psalms  of  David. 
The  truths  contained  in  these  divine  sonffs 
were  not  only  spoken  to  the  people ;  the  peo- 
ple were  requii-ed  to  utter  and  rehearse  them 


THE   LIVING  TEACHER.  99 

in  sacred  sotig ;  that  they  might  understand 
and  remember  them  ;  peradventure,  the  sweet 
sounds  that  conveyed  them  to  their  ear,  might 
find  a  lingering  echo  in  their  hearts.  Sacred 
music  is  the  highest  style  of  sacred  eloquence. 
"  Singing  and  making  melody  in  our  hearts  unto 
the  Lord;"  to  "sing  with  the  spirit  and  with 
the  understa?idi7ig  also,"  is  one  of  the  most  ef- 
fectiv^e  measures  of  making  a  deep  and  perma- 
nent impression  of  Divine  truth  upon  the  mind. 
Some  of  the  most  successful  preachers  of  the 
Gospel  have  made  abundant  use  of  this  method 
of  religious  instruction ;  and  in  more  than  one 
printed  narrative  of  revivals  of  religion  in  this 
land,  this  method  of  teaching  has  been  speci- 
fied as  one  of  the  honored  means  of  grace  and 
salvation.  And  who  has  not  read  of  it  in  the 
usages  of  those  noble  and  slandered  men,  the 
Scottish  Covenanters,  and  the  Puritans  of  Eng- 
land, in  the  days  of  Cromwell  ?  Not  a  few 
Christians  will  be  found  who  are  in  the  habit 
of  adding  this  method  of  instruction  to  their 
private  devotions,  and  who  have  found  in  it  no 
ordinary  means  of  spiritual  advancement. 

The  sacred  writers  concede  high  pre-emi- 
nence to  the  tongue  of  man ;  it  is  his  glory  and 
bis  disgrace ;  the  best  member  of  his  frame, 
when  devoted  to  purposes  that  are  good  ;  when 
devoted  to  evil  purposes,  it  is  the  worst.  It 
blesses  and  it  blasphemes ;  it  diffuses  a  healthy 


100  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT, 

and  heavenly  iuflucnce,  or  it  is  like  a  firebrand, 
scorcliiiii]^  and  burning  as  t  liouii^h  it  were  ii^nited 
at  the  flames  that  never  shall  be  quenched. 
"  By  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,"  says  the 
Saviour,  "  and  by  thy  ivords  thou  shalt  be  con- 
demned." "  If  any  man  offend  not  in  word," 
says  the  apostle  James,  "  the  same  is  a  perfect 
man."  The  tongue  exerts  the  great  controlling 
iiilluence  in  the  world.  It  turns  about,  and  gov- 
erns the  mass  of  minds  on  which  it  acts,  just  as 
the  horse  obeys  the  bit,  or  the  ship  the  helm. 
There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  sins  of  the  tongue 
which  the  Bible  stigmatizes  above  all  other 
sins.  There  are  instances  in  VN'hich  men  may 
lawfully  deceive  by  their  silence,  or  by  actions 
^vhich  they  mean  should  be  misconstrued.  To 
act  such  a  deception,  is  a  different  thing  from 
uttering  it ;  the  action  7nay  be  right  and  just, 
the  uttered  falsehood  nothing  can  justify.  The 
tendency  of  the  principle  that  falsehood  is  jus- 
tifiable, would  be  ruinous ;  the  mere  act  utters 
nothing  ;  it  is  dubious  in  its  import,  and  maij 
be  as  innocent  as  a  man's  taking  a  diflerent 
path  from  that  which  he  seemed  to  take,  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  his  pursuer.  The  enor- 
mity of  the  unpardonable  sin  consists  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  an  uttered  sin.  It  may  exist  in 
the  heart,  or  it  may  be  uttered  in  the  retire- 
ment of  the  closet,  and  may  be  repented  of  and 
forgiven  ;  but  if  uttered  in  the  cars  of  men,  it 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.  101 

has  aggravations  which  put  the  perpetrator  be- 
yond repentance,  and  therefore  beyond  pardon. 
And  the  reason  for  the  discrimination  is,  the 
all-controlling  influence  of  the  tongue. 

These  remarks  may  not  be  hastily  deemed 
a  digression  from  our  main  object ;  they  are  de- 
signed to  show  that  the  best  way  of  addressing 
divine  truth  to  the  mind  is  not  so  much  through 
the  eye  as  through  the  ear.  It  is  not  by  lofty 
domes,  nor  gorgeous  priestly  apparel,  nor  splen- 
did paintings,  and  sculptured  images ;  these 
mislead  the  mind,  and  form  rather  the  religion 
of  the  imagination  than  the  religion  of  the  un- 
derstanding and  the  heart.  There  is  no  small 
amount  of  such  religion  in  the  world.  We 
would  not  wage  indiscriminate  warfare  with 
the  religion  of  the  imagination ;  it  is  the  province 
of  true  religion  to  elevate  and  sanctify  all  the 
faculties  of  the  soul ;  but  we  need  not  be  taught 
that  the  religion  in  which  the  imagination  pre- 
dominates is  a  very  imperfect  religion,  nor  that 
the  religion  of  which  the  imairination  consti- 
tutes  the  sum  and  substance,  is  spurious  and 
false.  It  displaces  the  religion  of  the  heart;  it 
is  sentimentalism,  and  not  piety  :  it  originates 
in  false  principles  ;  it  expends  itself  in  outward 
parade  and  solemnity;  it  exhausts  itself  in 
forms.  It  is  the  religion  of  art  and  architec- 
ture, of  walls  and  altars ;  of  silver  shrines  and 
golden  gods;   of  unmeaning  ceremonies   and 


103  THE    POWER   OF    THE   PULPIT. 

plmntiisms,  ■vvliicli  tlistnicl  tlioiiglil,  and  unfit 
the  mind  for  the  Avorsliip  of  him  ^vllo  is  a  Spirit, 
and  must  be  -worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
The  Church  of  Rome  places  her  great  reliance 
upon  this  sort  of  teaching,  and  her  religion  is 
in  keeping  with  her  policy.  The  great  desire 
of  her  worshippers  is  to  be  pleased ;  and  the 
secret  of  her  success  is  that  she  pleases  them. 
Instructive  and  humbling  truths  are  things  she 
little  thinks  of;  she  speaks  to  the  eye,  she  fas- 
cinates the  senses,  and  if  there  be  some  truths 
inwoven  in  her  system,  they  are  neutralized  by 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  presented,  and 
evaporate  with  the  fragrance  of  her  incense. 
Unhappily,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  in  the 
age  in  which  we  live,  to  this  sort  of  religion, 
even  in  some  Protestant  churches.  Preaching 
the  truth  of  God  is  a  very  small  matter  with 
them;  beyond  the  circle  of  Apostolical  Suc- 
cession, and  the  participation  of  divine  ordi- 
nances at  the  hands  of  their  own  priesthood,  as 
the  indispensable  condition  of  salvation,  there 
are  few  subjects  on  which  they  are  well 
informed.  Some  among  them  indeed  there 
are,  not  "  of  the  straitest  sect,"  who  are  faith- 
ful preachers  of  Christ  and  him  crucified  ;  ^\  ho 
at  the  same  time,  on  these  controverted  topics 
know  more  than  they  preach,  and  have  not  the 
persecutors's  excuse,  "  I  did  it  ignorantly  and 
in  unbelief." 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.  103 

We  have  adverted  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Old  Testament  on  the  subjects  of  oral,  relig- 
ious instruction ;  let  us  briefly  advert  to  the 
teaching  of  the  New.  Timothy  was  exhorted 
by  Paul,  "  to  give  attendance  to  readmg  ;"  but 
it  was  that  he  might  become  an  able  j^iracher. 
There  are  passages  in  the  New  Testament 
which  speak  of  the  importance  of  reading 
God's  truth.  The  Saviour  read  the  Scriptures 
in  the  Synagogue  of  Nazareth  ;  he  demanded  of 
the  inquiring  Lawyer,  "  What  is  written  in  the 
Law ;  how  readest  thou  ?"  Paul's  epistles  were 
written  to  be  read  ;  he  charges  the  Thessaloni- 
ans,  that  his  epistle  to  them  "be  read  by  all  the 
holy  brethren;"  and  he  gives  the  like  charge  to 
the  Colossians,  that  his  epistle  to  them  be  read 
in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans;"  and  that  the 
Colossians  "  likewise  read  the  epistle  from  Lao- 
dicea."  The  revelation  which  the  angel  made 
to  John  is  prefaced  by  the  declaration,  "  Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth  and  understandeth  the  words 
of  this  prophecy."  Yet  does  the  whole  scope 
of  their  instructions  show,  that  it  is  not  so 
much  through  the  printed  page,  as  a  jireached 
Gospel,  that  men  are  converted  to  God.  "  As 
ye  go,  preach.'"  "  Go,  preach  my  Gospel."  God 
hath  sent  me  to  preach  the  Gospel.  "  To  me, 
who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this 
grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ."     It  is  the  great  law  of 


lOi  THE    POWKR   OF   THK   PULPIT. 

God's  kinofdom,  (hat  "it  pleased  God  by  the 
foolishness  of  preach i\g  to  save  them  that 
believe."  There  it  stands  too,  inscribed  on 
the  foundations  of  Zion.  "  So  then  faith  cometh 
by  hearing  ;" — not  by  seeing,  nor  by  reading, 
but  by  hearing.  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
liim  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches." 
The  parable  of  the  Sower  teaches  this  same 
fact ;  and  hence,  at  the  close  of  that  parable, 
tbe  Saviour  deduces  from  it  this  great  prac- 
tical inference,  "  Take  heed,  therefore,  how  ye 
hear  /"  Paul  declares  to  Timothy,  that  God 
"  hath  in  due  time  manifested  his  word  through 
preaching."  The  instrumentality  in  the  salva- 
tion of  men  which  they  emphasize,  is  "  the 
hearing  of  faith." 

The  fact  is  too  obvious  from  observation  and 
experience,  that  "  the  Spirit  of  God  maketh 
the  reading,  but  especially  the  preaching  of 
the  word  an  effectual  means  of  convincing  and 
converting  sinners,  and  of  building  them  in 
holiness  and  comfort,  through  faith  unto  salva- 
tion." That  wise  observer  of  the  operations 
of  God's  grace,  Robert  Hall,  in  a  "  Circular 
Letter  on  Hearing  the  Word,"  addressed  to 
the  ministers  and  churches  of  the  Northamp- 
tonshire Association,  among  other  excellent  re- 
marks, makes  the  observation,  that  "  there  is 
every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  far  greater  part 
of  those  who  have   been  truly  sanctified  and 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.         •  105 

enlightened,  will  ascribe  the  change  they  have 
experienced,  to  the  hearing  of  faith."  "Re- 
ligion," says  Dr.  D wight,  "  has  been  so  co-ex- 
ten.sive  with  preaching,  that  where  preaching 
has  not  been,  there  has,  with  scarcely  a  sol- 
itary exception,  been  no  religion :  and  wherever 
preaching  has  existed  for  any  length  of  time, 
religion  has  almost  invariably  existed  also," 

God's  institutions  are  wise.  "  With  him  is 
wisdom  and  strength  ;  he  hath  counsel  and  un- 
derstanding." Nothing  is  more  obvious  than 
the  wisdom  of  this  divine  arrangement ;  upon 
all  the  principles  of  our  common  nature,  it  is 
the  best  fitted  for  effect.  Among  its  peculiar 
advantages,  the  following  are  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. 

It  reaches  the  greatest  numbers  in  the  shortest 
time.  The  Gospel  is  a  message  to  the  race ; 
to  millions  it  would  be  a  dead  letter,  if  it  were 
not  a  preached  Gospel.  Constituted  as  men 
are,  more  minds  are  reached  from  the  pulpit 
than  in  any  other  way.  Men  would  not  read 
it,  if  it  were  simply  a  printed  Gospel,  because 
it  treats  of  subjects  in  which  they  feel  little 
concern,  and  to  which  they  are  naturally  hos- 
tile;  and  because  the  mass  of  men  have  notx 
time  for  profitable  reading.  They  will  read  a 
newspaper,  because  it  tells  them  what  they 
wish  to  know ;  but  they  will  not  read  a  re- 
ligious discourse.     But  they  will  hear  it ;  and 

6* 


lOG  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PCLPIT. 

they  do  hviw  a  miillitiule  of  such  (liscourses, 
which,  if  carried  (o  their  doors,  and  hiid  upon 
their  tables,  thoy  would  never  read.  Hun- 
dreds, and  sometimes  thousands,  are  virtually 
readinc^  the  same  book,  when  thus  listening  to 
the  instructions  of  a  single  living  preacher.  It 
is  not  often  that  so  many  persons  read  so  good  a 
book  as  <hey  thus  hear  read,  or  spoken  from  the 
pul])it.  Nor  is  it  often  that  the  same  amount  of 
instruction  is  communicated  to  them  all  in  any 
other  way  ;  and  never  within  the  same  com- 
pass of  time,  and  with  the  same  intellectual 
eflfort  on  the  part  of  the  instructed. 

Such  instructions,  too,  are  more  apt  to  be  un- 
derstood by  the  mass  of  mankind,  than  the  same 
instructions  when  merely  spread  before  the 
eye.  The  mass  of  men  are  not  thinking  men ; 
such  are  their  intellectual  habits,  that  had  they 
ever  so  much  time,  they  are  not  reading  men ; 
their  minds  are  not  subjected  to  the  patient 
discipline  which  renders  reading  pleasant  and 
profitable.  We  honor  the  press;  we  know  its 
vast  importance  to  the  world  ;  but  the  men 
who  profit  from  the  religious  press  are  not  the 
mass  of  mankind,  nor  even  the  mass  of  those 
who  hear  the  most  instructive  preaching. 
They  are  the  reading  and  thinking  men  who 
profit  by  it ;  and  the  mass  of  mankind  are 
profited  only  as  the  former  class  of  men  be- 
come their   teachers.     There  is  no  reason  to 


THE    LIVING   TEACHER.  107 

believe  that  one  in  ten  of  the  excellent  religious 
tracts  that  are  so  widely  distributed,  are  ever 
read;  though  wc  may  not  doubt  the  wisdom, 
the  Christian  duty  of  distributing  them;  for  if 
one  in  ten  be  read  and  understood,  the  seed  so 
widely  scattered  cannot  fail  to  yield  a  joyous 
harvest.     There  is  more  reason  to  doubt  the 
wisdom  of  this  distribution  in  heathen  lands,  and 
especially  at  so  heavy  an  expenditure  of  funds 
as  has  been  reported  by  the  American  Tract 
Society  for  several  years  last  past.     The  same 
amount  of  funds  expended  in  sending  the  living 
timiistry — funds,  and  a  ministry  so   earnestly 
demanded — would,   I   am   persuaded,  accom- 
plish  more   extensively  and  more    eft'ectively 
the  great  objects  of  that  noble  institution. 

It  affords  me  not  a  little  pleasure,  since  the 
writing  the  preceding  paragraphs,  and  before 
these  pages  go  to  the  press,  to  have  ascertained 
from  the  indefatigable  Secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, that  this  subject  is  now  the  matter  of 
wakeful  discussion  by  their  Prudential  Com- 
mittee. It  gives  me  the  opportunity  of  add- 
ing thoughts,  confirming  my  own  impressions, 
which,  in  the  original  draught  of  the  present 
chapter,  I  knew  not  were  entertained  by  others. 
In  the  "Missionary  Herald"  for  March,  of  the 
present  year,  is  a  very  interesting  communica- 
tion from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pohlman,  missionary  at 


108  TIIK    POWKR   OF   TIIK    PULPIT. 

Amoy,  in  Cliina,  on  the  subject  of  Avliicli  we 
are  speakinuf.  Tlie  vast  |)()j)uIa(iou  of  Cliiiia 
has  generally  been  supposed  to  be  a  more  read- 
ing people  than  that  of  any  other  Pagan  land; 
and  on  this  account  quite  as  accessible  to  the 
efforts  of  the  press,  as  to  the  instructions  of  the 
living  teacher.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Pohlman 
says,  "  I  rejoice  that  the  Committee  have  laid 
down  as  a  starting  point,  that  the  grand  object 
for  which  the  Board  should  sustain  missions  in 
China  is  the  oral  publication  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  Chinese  people."  The  writer  proceeds  to 
substantiate  this  view,  by  several  distinct  con- 
siderations, clearly  conceived,  and  ably  illus- 
trated, prefacing  his  illustrations  with  the  im- 
portant remark,  that  his  "  statements  and  con- 
clusions are  the  results  of  several  years'  labor 
at  Amoy."  His  positions  are,  that  "  the  num- 
ber of  intelligent  readers,  compared  with  the 
whole  population,  is  very  small ;" — that  "  the 
mass  of  superstitions  and  traditions  afloat 
among  the  people  is  a  peculiarity  calling  for 
faithful  preachers  of  the  Gospel;" — that  "the 
language  of  China  is  addressed  more  to  the  ear 
than  to  the  eye;" — that  "the  inability  of  the 
Chinese  fully  to  understand  our  books,  presents 
a  loud  call  for  teachers  to  guide  them ;" — that 
"  the  social  character  of  the  people  invites  the 
labors  of  oral  instructors;" — that  "in  the  prog- 
ress of  civilization   in  China,  a  foundation  is 


THE   LIVING  TEACHER.  109 

laid  for  the  preacher;" — that  "  public  preach- 
ing is  not  a  novel  thing  to  the  Chinese;"  and 
that  "■  the  desire  of  many  of  the  people  to  hear 
foreigners  is  another  loud  call  for  preaching  mis- 
sionaries." In  conftrmation  of  these  thoughts, 
in  a  recent  work  professing  to  furnish  a  "  Sur- 
vey of  the  Chinese  Empire,"  entitled  "  The 
Middle  Kingdom,"  hy  S.  W.  Williams,  it  is 
stated,  that  notwithstanding  the  extensive  dis- 
tribution of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  other  relig- 
ious books  and  tracts,  by  Liang  Afah  and  Giitz- 
laflf,  and  subsequently  by  Messrs.  Medhurst, 
Stevens  and  Lay,  and  Messrs.  Dickenson  and 
Wolfe,  scattering  as  they  did  fifty  thousand 
volumes  on  the  coast,  and  double  that  number 
about  Canton  and  Macao,  "  so  far  as  is  known 
not  an  instance  has  occurred  of  a  Chinese  com- 
ing to  a  Missionary  to  have  any  passage  ex- 
plained, nor  any  person  converted  who  has  at- 
tributed his  interest  in  religion  to  the  unassisted 
reading  of  these  books."  These  are  all  forcible 
considerations;  and  we  will  venture  to  ask,  not 
only  if  they  are  not  conclusive  in  regard  to 
China,  but  in  regard  to  every  other  heathen 
land  ? 

I  confess  a  smile  passed  over  my  counte- 
nance, when  I  read  the  communications  just 
referred  to,  and  I  said  within  myself,  these 
beloved  men  have  been  reading  their  Bibles. 
The  truth  is,  human  nature  is  the  same  thing  all 


110  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

over  tlie  world.  All  Ian2:iia2:c  is  addressed  more 
to  "  I  he  ear  tliau  (o  tlie  eye."  This  is  the 
meaiiiiiL!:  and  deliuitioii  of  Ian<T^uage.  It  is 
thoui»'ht  uttered  by  the  tongue.  It  is  the  teach- 
ing of  the  workl ;  if  men  are  slow  to  believe 
and  act  upon  this  obvious  truth,  they  will  most 
certainly  be  taught  by  experience.  It  requires 
an  intellect  in  no  small  degree  cultivated,  to 
read  any  work,  beyond  the  simplest  narrative, 
to  advantage.  One  reason  why  works  of  a 
purely  narrative  character  are  read  by  so  large 
a  portion  of  readers,  in  preference  to  more 
grave  and  spirited  discussions  is,  that  the  latter 
demand  too  much  intellectual  effort. 

We  are  not  so  foolish  and  arrogant  as  to 
claim  all  the  intelligence  in  the  world  for  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel;  while  it  is  our  iirm 
conviction,  that  the  great  benefit  which  the  re- 
ligions press  confers  on  the  great  masses  of  men, 
is  by  first  instructing  their  religious  teachers. 
Nor  is  it  too  much  to  say,  that  those  among 
them  who  become  profited  readers  of  relig- 
ious books,  become  so  because  they  are  first 
taught  by  the  pulpit.  There  is  very  little  relig- 
ious reading  where  the  mind  is  not  awakened 
to  it,  and  prepared  for  it,  by  the  instructions 
of  the  sanctuary. 

Reading  does  men  no  good  any  farther  than 
they  imderstand  it.  It  is  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament,  that  the  religious  leaders  of  Israel 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.  Ill 

"  read  in  the  Book  of  the  Law  of  God,  distinctly, 
and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  the  people  to 
understand  the  readinGf."  "  Understandest  thou 
what  thou  readest  V  said  Philip  to  the  Eunuch 
of  Ethiopia.  ''How  can  /,"  replied  he,  "  unless 
some  man  should  guide  me  ?"  Then  Philip 
opened  his  mouth,  '•'  and  began  at  the  same 
Scripture,  and  preached  unto  him  Jesus."  Our 
blessed  Lord,  after  having  delivered  in  succes- 
sion several  of  his  most  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive parables,  explained  them  to  his  disciples. 
It  is  delightful  to  mark  his  care  and  conde- 
scension in  this  particular,  and  this  remarka- 
ble characteristic  of  his  instructions.  He  took 
them  aside  by  themselves,  and  when  they  were 
alone,  not  only  made  his  explanations  full  and 
explicit,  but  after  he  had  done  so,  asked  them. 
Bo  you  understand  ?  They  were  solemn  truths 
he  had  been  uttering,  and  he  desired  that  they 
should  be  understood.  "  Jesus  saith  unto  them. 
Have  ye  understood  all  these  things  V  They 
say  unto  him,  "  Yea,  Lord.""  Favored  disci- 
ples !  blessed  Teacher  !  This  is  the  preacher's 
business.  His  trumpet  may  not  give  an  uncer- 
tain sound;  it  must  be  distinct  and  determi- 
nate. If  he  is  intelligent,  he  will  be  intelligi- 
ble ;  if  he  is  faithful,  he  not  only  may  but  must 
be  understood. 

We  are  persuaded  also  that  the  method  of 
instructing  men  by  a  preached  Gospel  is  the 


112  TllK    POWER  OF   THi:    PULPIT. 

most  economical  arnini;iMuciit .  Tliis  is  no  uiiim- 
])or(;int  considenilion,  liowovcr  triilinu^  the  re- 
mark may  seem.  No  suth  amount  of  religious 
iuslruclion  can  be  imparted  Avitii  the  same  cer- 
tainly, at  so  little  cost.  A  rural  pastor  of  a 
conii'regation  consisting  of  a  thousand  souls, 
furnishes,  at  a  moderate  estimate,  including  the 
exercises  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  week,  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six  discourses  a  year;  in- 
cluding: other  exercises,  five  hundred  and  six- 
ty-eight. He  virtually  distributes  a  thousand 
tracts  every  sermon  he  preaches,  and  every 
prayer  he  offers.  This  is  an  aggregate  of  forty- 
six  thousand  and  eight  hundred  tracts  a  year. 
And  if  his  salary  be  a  thousand  dollars,  at  the 
average  expense  of  one  dollar  a  year,  each  in- 
dividual is  supplied  with  this  number  of  tracts. 
Can  human  ingenuity  devise  a  more  economi- 
cal arrangement  for  furnishing  the  world  with 
religious  instruction  1 

But  what  is  of  greater  importance,  the  in- 
structions of  the  living  teacher  are  beyond 
measure  7nore  impressive  and  affecting  than  any 
other  method  of  instruction.  Men  are  the  crea- 
tures, not  of  thought  only,  but  of  feeling  ;  they 
have  susceptibilities  to  emotion;  they  are  sus- 
ceptibilities which  seek  to  be  gratified,  and 
which  ought  to  be  turned  to  good  account. 
Nature  demands  the  presence,  the  sympathy, 
the  eye,  the  voice,  the  action,  the  expressive 


THE    LIVING    TEACHER.  113 

countenance  of  the  living  teacher.  Thought, 
and  shades  and  emphasis  of  thought,  are  thus 
expressed  which  must  otherwise  be  concealed. 
It  is  thus  that  the  parent  influences  his  child, 
the  teacher  his  pupil,  and  the  men  of  the  world 
one  another.  Men  are  interested  in  what  the 
speaker  says,  by  observing  how  he  .says  it. 
His  vividness  of  voice  and  gesture  often  tells 
even  more  than  his  words.  They  note  his  sin- 
cerity and  earnestness ;  they  observe  the  emo- 
tions by  wliich  his  own  bosom  is  agitated  ;  and 
even  though  unconcerned,  and  unwon,  they 
are  not  unmoved.  The  most  powerful  appeals 
ever  made  to  the  reason,  the  conscience,  the 
the  interest,  or  the  passions  of  men,  are  not 
made  from  the  press,  but  from  the  warm  heart 
and  glowing  lips  of  the  living  speaker.  The 
Areopagus  of  Athens,  the  Senate  House  of 
Rome,  the  British  Parliament,  the  French 
Chambers,  the  halls  of  the  American  Congress, 
and  the  Bar,  furnish  abundant  tribute  to  the 
power  of  the  living  speaker  over  all  other 
methods  of  instruction  and  influence.  Mighty 
events  have  been  suspended  on  the  uttered 
words  of  men.  That  terrible  scene,  the  French 
Revolution, — a  page  in  history  never  to  be 
blotted  out,  was  produced  more  by  the  impas- 
sioned and  inflammatory  harangues  of  Mirabeau, 
Danton,  Marat,  and  Robespierre,  than  even  by 
the  ferocious  mob  of  Paris.    "  Frenchmen,"  said 


114  THE   POWER  OF  THE    PULPIT. 

Marat,  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  rabble 
through  the  Rue  St.  Ilonore,  "  there  is  a  con- 
s])iracy  on  foot  to  murder  the  patriots  of  Paris. 
The  troops  of  the  provinces  are  coming,  by 
order  of  the  king,  to  put  man,  woman,  and 
child,  to  the  sword.  The  fete  at  Marseilles  is 
given  to  the  vanguard  of  the  army,  to  pledge 
them  to  this  terrible  purpose.  The  governors 
of  the  provinces  are  all  in  this  league  of  blood. 
The  bakers  of  Paris  have  received  an  order 
from  Versailles  to  put  poison  in  all  their  loaves 
within  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  French- 
men, do  you  love  your  wives  and  children  ? 
Will  you  suffer  them  to  die  in  agonies  before 
your  eyes  ?  Wait,  and  you  will  have  nothing 
to  do  but  dig  their  graves.  Advance,  and  you 
will  have  nothing  to  do  but  drive  the  tyrant, 
with  his  horde  of  priests  and  nobles,  into  the 
Seine.  Pause,  and  you  are  massacred  ;  arm, 
and  you  are  invincible."  The  livid  villain  was 
"answered  by  shouts  of  vengeance."  Burning 
words  like  these  formed  the  cascade,  the  tor- 
rent, that  set  in  motion  that  mighty  revolu- 
tionary engine ;  they  were  the  fires  in  those 
Jacobinical  clubs  that  made  the  steam  for  that 
furious  machinery.  So  it  has  been  elsewhere. 
Pym,  Hampden,  and  Vane,  in  the  stormy  days 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  gave  impulse 
to  the  sword  of  Cromwell,  Fairfax,  and  Ire  ton. 
And  what  was  it  that  has  given  a  single  man, 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.  115 

in  our  own  times,  such  wondrous  ascendency 
over  Ireland,  that  the  populace  moved  at  his 
bidding,  but  his  power  to  "  agitate  and  agi- 
tate," by  being  thus  brought  into  direct  and 
personal  communication  with  his  countrymen 
in  their  public  assemblies  ?  It  were  a  great 
oversight  in  us  to  overlook  that  noble  exem- 
pliiiication  of  the  power  of  oral  above  all  other 
methods  of  influencing  the  minds  of  men  w  hich 
has  just  been  furnished  by  an  accomplished 
modern  orator.  Paris  w  as  all  on  fire ;  the  mob 
had  already  the  taste  of  blood,  and  was  ripe  for 
every  form  and  degree  of  lawless  vengeance. 
Nor  was  it  until  after  six  long  hours  of  bold 
and  impassioned  appeal,  that  their  infuriate 
madness  could  be  arrested.  But  Leviathan 
was  tamed ;  there  was  a  charm  in  the  elo- 
quence of  Lamartine  that  laid  the  angry  popu- 
lace at  his  feet. 

This  is  a  pre-eminence  that  may  be  occupied 
by  good  men,  and  in  a  good  cause.  It  is  occu- 
pied by  the  pulpit :  mind  is  here  brought  into 
contact  with  mind,  face  with  face,  heart  with 
heart.  Whatever  there  is  of  riches,  greatness 
and  force  in  the  truth  of  God,  and  whatever  of 
power  in  human  language,  and  of  moving  sym- 
pathy in  the  living  preacher,  urging  that  truth 
with  all  the  clearness,  and  ardor,  and  enthusi- 
asm he  is  enabled  to  bring  to  his  great  vocation. 


IIG  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

here  have  the  best  opportunity  of  forming  the 
cliaracters  of  men. 

There  is  no  more  impressive  ilhistration  of 
the  power  of  tlie  living  teacher,  than  that 
■\vliich  results  from  a  comparison  of  the  printed 
and  uttered  discourses  of  the  most  powerful 
preachers.  When  you  read  the  discourses  of 
Whitfield,  you  can  scarcely  be  persuaded  that 
he  was  the  prince  of  preachers ;  and  that  the 
author  of  those  printed  pages  was  the  man 
who  collected  20,000  hearers  on  the  open  field 
at  Leeds  ;  who  fjiscinated  all  ranks  of  society  ; 
Avho  held  Hume  in  profound  admiration ;  and 
who  brought  the  infidel  Chesterfield  to  his  feet, 
Avith  outstretched  arms,  to  rescue  the  wan- 
derer from  the  fold  of  God,  whom  the  preacher 
represented  in  the  act  of  falling  over  the  preci- 
pice. You  read  his  sermons,  but  the  jjreacher 
is  not  there.  That  glance  of  his  piercing  eye 
that  hushed  thousands  to  silence  in  the  open 
field,  is  not  there.  That  voice,  at  a  single  in- 
tonation of  which  a  whole  audience  has  been 
known  to  burst  into  tears,  is  not  there.  That 
instant  communication  between  the  living 
speaker  and  his  hearers,  which  creates  so  pow- 
erful a  sympathy,  is  not  there.  Some  of  the 
best  discourses  of  the  late  Dr.  Mason,  the  dis- 
tinguished preacher  of  our  own  city,  have  been 
given  to  the  world ;  but  rich  as  they  are  in 
matter,  and  forcible  in  style,  and  though  they 


THE   LIVING  TEACHER.  117 

exhibit  not  a  few  of  the  peculiarities  of  their 
great  author,  make  a  feeble  impression  upon 
the  mind  of  the  reader,  compared  with  that 
made  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  listened  to 
them  from  the  pulpit.  That  celebrated  and 
beautiful  discourse  entitled,  "  The  Value  of  the 
Gospel,"  from  the  text,  "  To  the  poor  the  Gos- 
pel is  preached,"  was  pronounced  in  the  city 
of  New  Haven,  in  the  year  1808,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  one  of  the  largest,  most  intellectual, 
and  Christian  audiences  ever  assembled  in  this 
land.  The  sun  had  just  risen,  when  torrents 
oi  men  were  seen  pouring  to  the  house  of  God. 
There  were  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  both  the 
aged  and  the  young.  Learned  Professors,  re- 
flecting Judges  of  the  law,  and  Lawyers  in 
their  pride,  were  there.  There  were  Senators 
and  men  of  learning,  from  every  part  of  the 
land.  There  sat  the  venerable  D wight,  and 
the  not  less  venerable  Backus,  melted  into  a 
flood  of  tears.  That  vast  auditory,  which 
seemed  at  first  only  to  listen  with  interest,  and 
then  gaze  with  admiration,  with  few  excep- 
tions covered  their  faces  and  wept.  Yet  when 
you  read  the  discourse,  the  charm  is  gone. 
There  was  a  dignity,  a  majesty,  and  withal  an 
attractive  tenderness  where  the  preacher  stood, 
which  are  not  found  in  the  printed  page.  That 
memorable  discourse  of  the  late  Dr.  Dwight, 
entitled  "  Life  a  Race,"  as  well  as  that  so  ef- 


118  THE   POWKR  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

fcctively  pronounced,  in  more  than  one  of  our 
pulpits,  by  the  late  Dr.  Griffin,  on  the  "Knowl- 
edi^^e  of  God,"  will  both  be  lonf^  remembered 
as  an  lienor  to  the  American  ministry  ;  but  who 
that  heard  them  does  not  dwell  rather  on  the 
memory  of  the  past,  and  turn  from  the  dead 
volume  to  the  living  preacher  ? 

It  depends  on  the  reader  whether  the  thoughts 
in  the  printed  page  have  emphasis ;  in  uttered 
discourses  it  depends  on  the  speaker.  An  inti- 
mate friend  of  the  late  Rev.  John  Fletcher, 
remarks  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gilpin,  that  "  he 
would  rather  have  heard  one  sermon  from  Mr. 
Fletcher,  than  read  a  volume  of  his  works." 
His  Avords  are  clothed  with  power  as  we  read 
them ;  but  just  conceive  such  a  man  as  Fletcher 
uttering,  as  he  did,  such  burning,  melting 
thoughts  as  the  following:  "See,  pardon  for 
lost  sinners  is  written  with  pointed  steel,  and 
streaming  blood.  His  open  arms  invite,  draw, 
welcome  the  returning  prodigal.  Fly  then, 
miserable  sinner,  if  thy  flesh  is  not  brass,  and 
thou  canst  not  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings, 
fly  for  shelter  to  tlie  bloody  cross  of  Jesus !" 
Such  emotions  have  no  counterpart  in  types 
and  paper. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  enjoys  the  opportunity  of  exerting 
this  influence  beyond  any  other  class  of  public 
speakers.     They  enjoy  it  on  the  Lord's  Day, 


THE    LIVING   TEACHER.  119 

and  more  usually  once  at  least  during  the 
week.  More  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  times 
a  year,  they  ordinarily  come  before  the  great 
congregation,  with  the  messages  of  God's  eter- 
nal truth.  The  privilege  is  theirs  without  in- 
terruption ;  no  man  forbidding  them,  and  none 
contradicting,  or  opposing  them.  The  entire 
field  of  discussion,  and  expostulation,  and  ap- 
peal is,  by  law  and  courtesy,  their  own.  Won- 
derful power  is  this  over  the  minds  of  men  ! 
Give  it  to  the  demagogue,  and  what  more 
would  he  ask  ?  The  late  Aaron  Burr,  at  the 
close  of  the  last  religious  service  of  the  Amer- 
lean  troops,  as  they  were  just  about  embark- 
ing for  Quebec,  under  Arnold,  said  to  the 
chaplain  of  the  detachment,  a  man  of  no  mean 
powers,  "  Sir,  you  gentlemen  of  the  black  cloth 
have  greater  opportunities  of  influencing  the 
minds  of  men,  than  the  gentlemen  of  any 
other  profession."  Nor  was  the  remark  ex- 
travagant. Multiply  the  missionaries  of  evil 
as  the  Christian  pulpits  are  multiplied,  and 
what  more  would  the  Spirit  of  Evil  desire  ? 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  Christian  ministry  ad- 
dresses men  under  all  those  adventitious  circum- 
stances that  are  fitted  to  give  them  influence. 
It  is  the  Day  of  God  and  his  sanctuary  that 
convokes  them,  and  those  who  hear  them ;  the 
day  when  men  rest  from  the  care  and  toil  of 
earth  ;  the  house  of  prayer,  none  other  than 


120  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

the  gate   of  lioaven,  wliicli  they  go  to  knock 
at.     Multitudes  arc   there,   and  unearthly   in- 
fluences are  around  tliem.     Tlie  God  of  Iieaven 
and  the  King  of  the  universe  is  there,  and  it 
is   from  his  oracles  that  they  hear  and  learn 
the  way  of  life.     They  are  his  altars  on  which 
the   sacrifice   is  offered,  and  it  is  consecrated 
by  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise.     There  may 
be  no  pomp  and  magnificence  in  the  worshi]) ; 
there  may  be  no  massive  architecture  ;  no  dec- 
orated walls  and  altars  ;  no  deep-toned  organ 
and  enchanting  choir;  no  ceremony  to  strike 
the    senses    and    exalt    the    imagination ;    and 
nothing  more  than  the  simplest  worship  offered 
to  Ilim  who  "  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made 
with  hands."     But  there  is  impressive  and  im- 
posing solemnity.     There  is  the  worship  of  the 
heart  offered  to  One  who  is  himself  ''a  Spirit, 
and  must  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
Nor  may  the  thought  be  depreciated,  that 
the  scene  is  one,  where  every  thing  which  the 
preacher  utters  is  enforced  by  all  the  sympa- 
tliies  of  social  life;  sympathies  that  are  never 
purer,  and  never  more  hallowed  and  delight- 
ful, than  in  the  house  of  God.     They  are  the 
families  of  God's  people  that  are  there  assem- 
bled, adorned  in  the  beauties  of  holiness,  at- 
tracted to  the  sanctuary  by  all  that  is  affection- 
ate in  the  love  of  parents  to  their  children,  and 


THE   LIVING   TEACHER.  121 

all  that  is  beautiful  in  the  honor  paid  by  chil- 
dren to  their  parents. 

And  where,  if  not  amid  such  scenes,  and 
listening  to  such  truths,  can  the  mind  of  man 
ever  hope  to  exert  an  influence  over  other 
minds  ?  Ought  not  such  a  ministry  to  be 
clothed  with  power  ?  What  cause  has  such  a 
hearing  as  that  of  the  Christian  pulpit  1  - 

6 


CHAPTEU    VIII. 

THE    DIVINE    AUTIIORITV    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY. 

The  truth  of  God  has  power,  be  it  uttered 
by  whom  it  may.  It  possesses  the  authority 
of  truth ;  and  ought,  even  though  uttered  by 
meanest  lips,  to  control  the  understanding,  the 
conscience,  the  heart,  and  the  life. 

But  there  is  superadded  to  the  power  of 
truth,  as  thus  uttered,  a  circumstance  of  some 
importance,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  ele- 
ments of  that  influence  which  is  exerted  by 
the  Christian  pulpit.  The  truth  it  commimi- 
cates  is  uttered  in  God's  name,  and  hy  God's  au- 
thority. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  every  man  is  au- 
thorized to  utter  the  truth  of  God,  and  to  urge 
home  its  obligations  on  the  consciences  of  his 
fellows.  There  is  no  law  of  nature,  of  recti- 
tude, or  of  God,  that  locks  his  lips  in  silence. 
The  mere  fact  that  he  is  acquainted  with 
truths  that  are  essential  to  the  salvation  of  his 
fellow-men,  with  which  they  are  unacquainted, 
lays    him    under    obligations    to    make    them 


ITS   DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  123 

known,  and  to  impress  and  enforce  them. 
Truth  herself  authorizes  him  to  utter  them ; 
she  says  to  every  one  of  her  disciples,  imbued 
with  her  principles,  and  filled  with  her  spirit, 
"  Go  and  proclaim  them ;  make  them  known 
to  those  who  are  shrouded  in  darkness  ;  make 
them  understood  by  the  ignorant,  and  felt  by 
the  thoughtless,  and  do  whatever  in  you  lies 
to  reclaim  and  save  those  who  are  wandering 
in  the  perverse  and  crooked  ways  of  sin  and 
death.  Be  blameless  and  harmless,  the  sons 
of  God  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a 
crooked  and  perverse  nation,  among  whom  ye 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world ;  holding  forth  the 
word  of  life.'"' 

Truth  is  personified  in  the  Scriptures  as 
everywhere  announcing  her  own  claims;  she 
does  this  by  the  lips  and  lives  of  her  disciples. 
Doth  not  "  Wisdom  cry,  and  understanding  put 
forth  her  voice  ?  She  standeth  in  the  top  of 
high  places,  by  the  way  in  the  places  of  the 
paths.  She  crieth  at  the  gates,  at  the  entry  of 
the  city,  at  the  coming  in  at  the  doors.  Unto 
you,  O  men,  I  call,  and  my  voice  is  to  the 
sons  of  men !"  The  last  message  of  the  Sav- 
iour's love  ever  given  to  this  lost  world,  is 
contained  in  those  precious  words,  "  And  the 
Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  come ;  and  let  him 
that  heareth  say,  come  ;  and  whosoever  will, 
let   him   take    of  the    water   of  life    freely !" 


124  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

Tlie  o^racious  invitation  sliould  sound  forth  from 
every  tongue,  and  through  every  land. 

The  Clnirch  of  God  ouglit  every vvliere  to 
invite  men  to  Jesus;  the  voice  of  all  her  mem- 
bers ought  everywhere  to  unite  Avith  the  voice 
of  his  Spirit,  in  presenting  tlie  invitations  of  his 
mercy  to  a  lost  world.  The  personal  obliga- 
tions of  every  believer,  to  assist  in  spreading 
the  truth,  can  hardly  be  called  in  question. 
The  field  is  large,  and  there  is  abundant  room 
for  the  combined  efforts  of  all  the  friends  of 
the  Redeemer  in  this  blessed  w  ork.  "  Come 
and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,"  says  the 
Psalmist,  "  and  I  will  tell  wiiat  the  Lord  hath 
done  for  my  soul." 

The  agency  of  judicious  and  private  Chris- 
tians has  ever  been  appreciated  during  those 
seasons  when  God,  in  a  remarkable  manner, 
has  poured  out  his  Spirit ;  it  is  required,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary.  Ministers  cannot  per- 
form all  the  work ;  a  multitude  of  minds  must 
be  moving  in  concert  w  ith  theirs,  and  a  mul- 
titude of  hands  employed.  No  man  may  re- 
fuse to  speak  a  w^ord  for  Christ,  because  he  is 
not  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Gospel ;  nor 
fold  up  his  talent  in  a  napkin,  and  bury  it  in 
the  earth  because  it  is  but  one  talent.  "  The 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man 
to  profit  withal."  He  may  not  have  the  gift 
of  prophecy,  and  be  called  to  the  sacred  min- 


ITS   DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  125 

istry;  but  if  there  be  given  to  him,  ''  the  word 
of  wisdom,"  and  the  "  word  of  knowledge," 
it  is  that  he  may  he  profitahle  to  others,  and 
employ  the  gift  for  the  salvation  of  men. 

But  while  these  are  truths  that  ought  neither 
to  be  forgotten  nor  abused,  it  is  equally  true, 
that  no  private  Christian  is  authorized  to  utter 
the  truths  of  the  Gospel  in  God's  name,  and  as 
his  commissioned  ambassador.  He  may,  and 
ought  to  speak  for  God,  in  his  private  capa- 
city ;  but  not  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 
When  two  nations  are  at  war,  the  private  cit- 
izens of  both,  who  are  resident  in  the  land  of 
the  enemy,  may,  in  their  private  capacity,  urge 
the  claims  of  their  own  land  ;  while  as  com- 
missioned ambassadors,  they  have  no  authority, 
and  in  that  capacity  have  no  claim  to  be  heard. 
This  world  is  at  war  with  God :  every  friend 
of  God  in  this  revolted  empire  of  his  domin- 
ion, is  bound  to  act  the  part  of  a  friend,  and 
in  his  capacity  as  a  private  citizen  of  the  Di- 
vine kingdom,  to  urge  men  to  cease  from  their 
rebellion,  and  become  reconciled  to  their  in- 
jured and  offended  Lord  ;  but  he  has  no  in- 
structions to  do  this  as  God's  special  ambas- 
sador. 

The  legitimate  occupants  of  the  pulpit  claim 
this  as  their  prerogative  ;  they  are  appointed 
by  God  himself  to  this  responsible  service. 
God  has  invested  them  with  this  high  office  j 


126  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

and  they  have  ever  claimed  and  exercised  it 
in  every  age  of  the  world.  When  Moses  and 
Aaron  appeared  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh, 
they  carried  with  them  the  credentials  that 
they  were  commissioned  by  him,  and  spake 
by  his  authority,  and  in  his  name.  When 
Samuel,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jewish 
prophets,  appeared  before  Saul  and  the  people 
of  Israel,  it  was  a  question  of  great  moment 
that  it  should  be  known  and  confessed  that  he 
was  God's  special  messenger.  Hence  we  have 
this  record  concerning  him :  "  And  Samuel 
grew,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him,  and  did  let 
none  of  his  words  fall  to  the  ground ;  and  all 
Israel,  from  Dan  to  Beersheba,  hiew  that  Sam- 
uel was  established  to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord." 
When  Nathan  appeared  in  the  presence  of 
David ;  when  Elijah  went  before  Ahab  ;  when 
later  Prophets  presented  themselves  before  the 
kings  and  people  of  Israel  and  Judah ;  it  was 
not  without  the  evidence  of  their  divine  ap- 
pointment. 

False  prophets  there  were,  of  whom  it  is 
written,  that  "  they  ran,  but  God  did  not  send 
them ;"  they  were  dishonored  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people  ;  God  poured  contempt  upon  them, 
and  "  cast  dung  upon  their  faces."  From  the 
calling  of  Enoch  to  the  present  hour,  with 
one  exception,  there  never  has  been  a  period 
during  which  divinely  commissioned  teachers 


ITS   DIVINE  AUTHORITY,  127 

of  religion  were  not  found  among-  men.  That 
exception  is  that  sombre  age  of  four  hundred 
years,  between  Malachi,  the  last  of  the  Jewish 
prophets,  and  John  the  Baptist.  Priests  there 
were ;  authorized  and  commissioned  prophets 
there  were  none.  Sacred  writings  there  were  ; 
but  the  voice  of  the  living  prophet,  sent  by  the 
God  of  Israel  to  his  apostate  people  in  their 
calamity,  was  silent.  The  last  sentence  from 
heaven  which  that  degenerate  people  listened 
to,  was  tlie  memorable  declaration  of  the  last 
of  their  prophets,  "Behold  I  will  send  you  Eli- 
jah, the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the  great 
and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  shall 
turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children, 
and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers, 
lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a  curse." 

John  the  Baptist  and  the  seventy,  received 
their  commission  from  a  divine  source.  When 
the  Saviour  sent  forth  the  twelve  Apostles,  they 
went  by  his  special  appointment,  and  in  his 
name ;  they  had  his  promise  that  he  would  be 
with  them,  as  well  as  the  additional  evidence 
of  their  commission  which  was  furnished  by 
their  possession  of  miraculous  powers. 

In  perfect  accordance  with  this  brief  state- 
ment is  the  general  language  of  the  Scriptures 
in  relation  to  the  authority  by  which  these  di- 
vinely commissioned  teachers  were  invested. 
"Thou  shalt  hear  the  word  at  mv  mouth,  and 


128  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT, 

warn  ihem  fro?n  me." — I  warn  them  by  you  :  it 
is  as  tlioiiijh  I  spake  to  them,  when  you  speak 
in  mv  name. — "  Go  preach  the  preaclung  that  / 
bid  thee."  "  As  my  Father  |jiath  sent  me,  even 
so  se?id  I  you."  "We  are  cwihassadors  for  Christ, 
as  tliough  God  did  beseech  you  by  us,  we  pray 
you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 

The  Christian  ministry,  in  every  age  of  the 
Avorhl  since  the  ascension  of  its  great  Founder, 
possesses,  virtually,  the  same  commission.  The 
institution  and  the  perpetuity  of  this  order 
of  men  is,  of  all  others,  the  most  important 
arrangement  for  the  enlargement  and  perpetu- 
ity of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  salvation 
of  men.  By  them  the  public  worship  of  God 
is  to  be  conducted,  the  ordinances  of  the  Gos- 
pel dispensed,  and  the  faith  and  order  of  God's 
house  are  to  be  preserved.  It  is  not  a  moral, 
but  a  j)Ositive  institution,  growing  out  of  the 
moral  wants  of  our  race;  and  its  authority 
depends  entirely  upon  the  will  of  its  great 
Founder. 

After  our  triumphant  Lord  had  risen  from 
the  dead,  he  came  and  spake  to  his  disciples, 
saying,  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  iu  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost: 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
I  have  commanded  you  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 


ITS    DIVINE    AUTHORITY.  129 

alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  And 
tlien  he  added  his  own  solemn  and  emphatic 
Amen.  The  office  originates  with  him,  who, 
after  his  resurrection,  was  invested  with  the 
mediatorial  crown,  and  formally  appointed  to 
he  "Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church." 
This  commission  was  originally  given  to  the 
eleven  Apostles  upon  a  mountain  in  Galilee, 
where  the  Saviour  had  made  an  appointment 
for  this  special  interview  ;  nor  is  there  any  evi- 
dence that  it  was  given  to  any  others.  The 
service  for  which  it  was  designed  was  to  make 
disciples  of  the  Christian  faith,  to  baptize  them, 
and  to  instruct  them  in  all  the  doctrines,  pre- 
cepts, and  institutions  of  the  Gospel.  The 
duration  for  which  it  was  to  continue  is  "  to 
the  end  of  the  world."  It  must  he  so  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  and  in  order  to  accomplish 
its  object,  which  was,  "  For  the  perfecting  of 
the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and 
for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ."  This 
object  could  not  be  accomplished  if  the  com- 
mission expired  with  the  lives  of  the  Apostles. 
The  promise  appended  to  the  commission,  also, 
was  to  have  effect  till  the  consummation  of 
time  ;  for  if  the  ministry  be  not  continued, 
there  are  no  objects  of  the  promise ;  it  is  a 
dead  letter,  and  has  not  been  fulfilled.  The 
commission,  therefore,  is  perpetual ;  the  legiti- 
mate  ministry  of  every  age  act  under  its  au- 

6* 


130  THK   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

tliority,  and  have  a  rifflit  (o  tlio  promise.  Their 
ap})c)intinoiit  is  not,  indeotl,  ])y  an  aii(H])le  voice 
from  lieaven  ;  nor  is  it  conferred  by  miraculous 
powers.  But  thouii^h  tlie  commission  is  but  a 
recorded  one,  and  tlie  ag^e  of  miracles  is  past; 
yet  is  the  Christian  ministry  as  truly  of  divine 
appointment,  as  was  that  of  the  Seventy,  or  the 
eleven  Apostles. 

It  IS  no  part  of  our  design,  in  these  pages 
to  discuss  the  vexed  question  of  Apostolical, 
or  Ministerial  succession.  Whether  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  receives  its  fiuthority  immediately 
from  Jesus  Christ  himself,  or  in  an  unbroken 
series  from  their  predecessors  in  office ;  whether 
a  formal  induction  to  it  by  the  laying  on  of  the 
hands  of  Bishops,  or  Presbyters,  or  the  Church, 
be  essential  to  the  office  itself;  or  wdiether 
the  external  rite  of  transfer  be  a  matter  of  or- 
der, or  of  substance ;  are  questions  on  which 
there  are,  and  w  ill  be  different  opinions.  We 
dare  not  affirm  that  an  uninterrupted  line  of 
succession  is  indispensable  to  the  Christian 
ministry.  The  burden  of  proof  lies  upon  those 
who  affirm  that  it  is  indisj^ensable ;  it  is  a 
heavy  burden,  perhaps  too  w^eighty  for  them 
or  their  fathers  to  bear ;  nor  do  we  know  that 
they  have  ever  made  out,  that  in  no  possible 
case,  the  Christian  ministry  can  be  perpetuated 
in  any  other  way.  We  are  not  converts  to  this 
doctrine,   we    confess;    and  for  ourselves,  as 


ITS    DIVINE    AUTHORITY.  131 

Presbyterians,  we  are  not  disturbed  by  it,  if  it 
is  true.  We  scarcely  know  how  this  question 
is  viewed  by  the  "  straitest  sect"  of  Prelatists. 
Sometimes,  it  seems  to  us  they  look  upon  it  as 
one  of  the  great  problems  of  transcendental 
metaphysics ;  and  then  again  it  would  appear 
that  they  regard  it  as  one  of  those  questions 
which  are  too  plain  to  need  discussion,  and  that 
exclusive  prelacy  belongs  to  that  class  of  uni- 
versal truths  which  it  is  impossible  to  consider 
as  doubtful.  The  conviction  of  its  truth  is  con- 
nate and  instinctive ;  all  that  is  necessary  is  to 
have  boldness  enough  to  own  it.  The  grounds 
of  the  belief,  it  Avould  seem,  are  of  little  con- 
sequence; the  belief  itself  is  the  result  of  what 
a  comparatively  modern  writer  on  Logic  calls 
"  the  unreasoning  faculty."*     To  us  it  appears 

*  These  remarks  would  scarcely  be  supposed  to  be  called  for  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  is  almost  incredible  that  a  writer  who  makes 
pretensions  to  scholarship  and  piety  would  venture  on  an  assertion  so 
puerile,  as  that  high-church  Episcopacy  needs  but  to  be  boldly  avowed 
in  order  to  be  believed.  Yet  is  there  a  modern  writer  who  has  actu- 
ally done  this.  The  work  to  which  we  refer  is  an  anonymous  volume, 
entitled  "  Hawkstone ;  A  Tale  of  England,"  which  made  its  appear- 
ance on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  in  1845,  and  which  has 
recently  been  republished  by  Stanford  &,  Swords,  of  our  city.  The 
preface  to  the  American  edition,  by  J.  W.,  informs  us  that  it  is  not 
allowable  to  "  indicate  "  the  author,  although  the  work  "  has  been 
very  generally  appropriated  to  a  distinguished  individual."  Speaking 
of  some  acts  of  excommunication  from  the  English  Church,  of  per- 
sons who  left  her  rehgious  services,  from  a  preference  for  other 
denominations,  this  "  distinguished  individual  "  says  :  "  The  effect  of 
this  boldness  upon  schismatics  was  startling.    It  made  them  reflect. 


13:3  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

1  licit  (lie  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  all  of  one 
order;   tliat  a  division  of  their  powers  is  incon- 

It  was  the  assertion  of  an  authority  of  which  they  had  never  dreamed. 
It  was  tlie  appearance  of  the  Church  of  England  in  a  icholly  new 
light,  invested  with  privileges  which  could  only  belong  to  an  ambassa- 
dor of  Heaven,  and  the  very  claim  of  which,  boldly  and  unhesi- 
tatingly   MADE,  WAS   IN    ITSELF  AN    EVIDENCE    OF    THEIR    TRUTH  !" 

Truly,  tliis  is  not  a  little  to  our  amusement  and  edification.  To  our 
amusement,  because  if  this  doctrine  is  true,  Heaven  has  had  all  sorts 
of  ambassadors  ;  to  our  edification,  because  "  moniti,  non  temnere 
divos !"  Better  perhaps  for  Episcopacy  to  take  a  lesson  from  the 
pages  of  her  own  historj',  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  venture 
to  bo  a  little  more  bold  and  startling.  The  author  is  sadly  in  error, 
when  he  affirms  that  "  this  was  the  appearance  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  wholly  a  new  light."  It  is  a  poor  rule  that  will  not  work 
both  ways.  Truly,  we  must  take  courage;  we  must  imitate  the 
audacity  of  churchmen  !  Instead  of  peacefully  dismissing  now  and 
then  a  "  stray  sheep  "  from  our  folds,  and  bidding  him  God-speed  as 
he  seeks  a  refuge  at  the  altars  of  prelacy,  we  must  have  tlie  boldness 
to  excommunicate  him.  The  "  effect  of  this  boldness  would  be  start- 
ling." It  would  be  "  the  assertion  of  an  authority  of  which  the  wan- 
derers had  never  dreamed,"  and  the  "  very  claim  of  which,  boldly  and 
unhesitatingly  made,  would  in  itself  be  an  evidence  of  its  truth." 
Has  it  then  come  to  this,  that  the  classical  and  accomplished  J.  W., 
either  as  a  logician,  or  a  Christian,  endorses  such  reasoning  and 
such  a  sentiment  ?  Surely,  Episcopacy  must  be  in  a  bad  way. 
"  Insonuere  cavae  gemitumque  dedere  cavernae." 

Our  own  opinion  of  Hawkstone  is  very  summarily  expressed.  The 
work  was  sent  to  us  by  a  lady  of  our  own  communion,  and  who  re- 
quested us  to  express  our  opinion  of  its  merits.  We  do  not  often 
read  so  artful  a  book.  The  grand  object  of  it  is  to  assert  the 
claims  of  the  most  arrogant  and  exclusive  Episcopacy.  The  author 
creeps  upon  it  by  cautious  and  gradual  steps,  as  a  tiger  advances 
to  his  prey,  without  giving  alarm.  lie  talks  about  every  thing 
that  is  good,  and  introduces  matter  as  irrelevant  as  would  be  Ho- 
mer's battle  of  the  frogs  and  mice.  At  length  he  comes  out,  and 
like  a  circumambulating  wolf,  shows  his  head  over  the  wall  around 
which,  witli  cautious  steps,  he  had  so  long  manoeuvered.  It  has 
just  truth  enough  to   mislead,  and  sufficient  error  to  poison  and 


ITS  DIVINE  AUTHORITY.  133 

sistent  with  the  commission  under  which  they 
hold    their  office;    and  that  their  powers   are 

destroy.  It  speaks  of  doctrine,  yet  has  nothing  in  the  form  of  doc- 
trine, save  the  impossibility  of  salvation  out  of  tlie  Episcopal 
Church.  It  condemns  Rome,  yet  claims  Rome's  infallibility  for 
the  Church  of  England.  Jesuitism  it  condemns,  but  if  its  author 
has  not  turned  out  a  Jesuit,  we  shall  confess  ourselves  mistaken. 
It  evinces  much  more  labor  than  talent,  and  much  less  of  Christian- 
ity than  sect.  It  commends  the  spirit  of  that  age  when  "  the  very 
name  of  a  dissenter  would  have  been  sutHcient  to  set  the  populace  in 
commotion  ;"  it  denounces  benevolent  institutions  in  every  form,  un- 
less they  are  under  the  supervision  and  direction  of  the  Church  of 
England  ;  it  puts  the  Church  above  the  Bible,  and  denies  the  right  of 
bringing  her  doctrines  to  the  test  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  it  pro- 
fesses to  be  the  offspring  of  Protestantism,  but  is  the  illegitimate 
child  of  Papacy,  and  ashamed  of  its  parentage.  Its  design  is  to  in- 
sinuate the  high-church  doctrines  of  Papacy,  by  pressing  into  its  ser- 
vice the  fascinating  form  of  fiction ;  and  such  a  series  of  miserable 
misrepresentations,  prejudice,  and  heated  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Pusey- 
ism,  is  rarely  to  be  met  with.  J.  W.  has  overshot  his  mark ;  he 
must  certainly  be  classed  with  those  baleful  prophets  who  said  to 
the  king  of  Israel,  "  Go  up  to  Ramoth  Gilead,  and  prosper ;"  and  it 
will  be  well  for  him  if  he  do  not  one  day,  like  the  counsellor  of  Ahab, 
seek  to  "  hide  himself  in  an  inner  chamber"  for  what  he  has  done. 
It  is  easy  to  bluster  and  talk  stout  on  the  sul)ject  of  Episcopal  claims, 
as  the  author  of  Hawkstone  does  ;  but  as  he  does  not  attempt  to  sub- 
stantiate any  one  of  his  positions,  he  must  be  treated  as  relying  on 
the  old  and  sometimes  very  respectable  argument,  Ipse  dixit.  Our 
offset  to  this  argument  is,  Ego  dico: — Episcopacy  is  a  dragon  with 
fieiy  horns  and  cauda  reim-ta ;  but  it  has  no  more  foundation  in  the 
word  of  God  than  Poole's  dragon  had  in  the  air. 

But  to  speak  of  this  matter  in  another  strain.  With  my  Episcopalian 
brethren  I  have  never  had  any  controversy.  Why  is  it  that  tliey  will 
not  let  us  rest  ?  Are  they  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a  war  of 
extermination  ?  So  it  would  seem.  J.  W.  appears  fully  to  imbibe 
the  spirit  of  that  horrid  imprecation, — 

"  Nunc  olim,  quocunque  dabunt  se  tempore  vires, 
Litora  litoribus  contraria,  fluctibus  undas 
Imprecor,  arma  arinis,  pugncnt  ipsiquc  ncpotes." 


l.'U  THE    POWER   OF    THE    I'ULPIT. 

one  ;ni(l  llio  snin(\  Wc  lioiior  the  office  as 
one  derived  from  lieaven  ;  nor  are  we  prepared 
lo  reji^ard  those  "  as  polluted  and  put  from 
the  priesthood,"  who,  while  they  hold  to  the 
doctrine  of  ministerial  succession,  are  so  ut- 
terly unable  to  produce  the  proof  that  the 
commission  under  which  they  themselves  in- 
dividually preach  the  Gospel,  is  any  thing 
better  than  a  nullity.  We  are  no  exclusion- 
ists ;  we  believe  that  the  water  of  life  retains 
its  healing  virtue,  by  whatever  consecrated 
channel  it  is  communicated.  Exclusiveness 
has  its  pretensions ;  mutual  forbearance  its 
claims. 

It  is  sufficient  to  our  present  purpose  to 
assume,  that  the  Christian  ministry  is  a  dis- 
tinct order  of  men ;  and  that  every  man  who 
possesses  the  necessary  qualifications,  and  is 
approved  and  set  apart  to  the  office  by  the  ex- 
pressed judgment  of  the  church,  acting  either 

Shall  the  sword  devour  forever?  Wliat  have  Episcopalians  ever 
gained  by  this  conflict  ?  The  subject  has  been  abundantly  discussed, 
and  it  appears  to  us  that  it  must  be  tlie  conviction  of  every  fair  and 
ingenuous  mind,  that  Episcopacy  has  no  foundation  to  rest  upon ; 
and  that  its  claims,  when  brought  to  the  test  of  history,  or  the  divine 
records,  must  utterly  fiiil.  We  have  no  desire  to  prolong  it,  yet 
we  must  act  on  the  defensive.  We  say,  with  the  eloquent  Roman, 
"  Est  enim  haec,  judices,  non  scripta,  sed  nata  lex :  quam  non  de- 
dicimus,  accissimus,  legimus,  verum,  a  natura  ipsa  arripuimus,  haus- 
imus,  expressimus  :  ad  quam  non  docti,  sed  facti ;  non  instituti,  sed 
imbuti  sumus.* 

♦  Cic.  pro  Mil.  Sect.  Orat.  p.  30G. 


ITS    DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  135 

in  her  own  capacity,  or  by  her  official  repre- 
sentatives, be  those  representatives  a  Pres- 
bytery, or  an  Ecclesiastical  Council,  or  a  single 
Bishop,  is  a  divinely  commissioned  minister  of 
Christ. 

Every  denomination  of  Christians  regards  its 
own  ministrij  as  divinely  commissioned.  It 
looks  upon  them,  and  they  look  upon  them- 
selves, as  "  called  of  God  as  w^as  Aaron,"  and 
sent  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
Great  Head  of  the  church,  to  proclaim  the 
truths,  and  enforce  the  obligations  of  the  Gos- 
pel. This  is  the  fact  we  here  dwell  upon  ; 
because  it  is  one  which  cannot  be  affirmed  of 
any  other  class  of  men.  INo  public  teachers 
in  the  world,  save  those  who  serve  at  the  altar, 
carry  this  divine  commisison. 

Enthusiasts  and  fanatics  there  may  be,  who 
place  themselves  upon  this  eminence.  Men 
of  the  "  fifth  monarchy"  did  in  England ;  and 
so  do  some  mad  zealots  in  our  own  day.  So 
have  false  prophets,  and  false  apostles,  and 
false  christs  in  times  that  are  gone  by.  Satan 
himself  assumes  the  form  of  an  angel  of  light. 
But  the  Church  is  in  little  danger  from  such 
deceivers ;  they  do  not  commend  themselves 
to  the  consciences  of  men.  Public  teachers 
there  are  too,  of  great  worth,  who  neither 
have,  nor  claim  any  such  authority.  The 
statesman,    the    jurist,    the    popular   lecturer, 


13G  THE   POWER    (3F   THE    PULPIT. 

however   ini|)orliiiit    llic    trutlis    tliey   deliver, 
teafh  not  in  tlie  name  and  by  the  autlioritv  of 
the  Living  God.     Nm'  does   every  tcaclier  of 
true  rehgion.     The  parent  does  not,  however 
wise,  faitliful,  aflcctionate,  and  successful  his 
instructions  to  his  children.     He  has  his  war- 
rant ;  it  is  divine  ;  but  it  is  sim])ly  and  purely 
patriarchal.     It  is  a  different  commission  from 
that  of  the  Christian  ministry  ;  it  is  not  so  ex- 
tensive, but  is  limited  to  his  own  household, 
and  does  not  include-  many  duties  that  belong 
appropriately  to  the  ministers  of  Christ.     It  is 
a  commission  of  vast  importance  so  far  as  it  ex- 
tends, nor  has  the  Christian  ministry  any  .such 
important  auxiliary,  as  the  religious  influence 
of  pious  parents,  and  the  religious  instruction 
which   they   are   authorized   and    required   to 
give  officially  to  their  children.     Yet  the  com- 
mission under  which  they  act  is  not  the  minis- 
terial commission.     Nor  does  the  Ruling  Elder 
teach  in  God's  name,  and  by  God's  authority. 
He  is  not  a  teaching,  but  a  ruling  elder.     He 
rules  in   God's  name,   and   by  his  authority ; 
when  he  "  labors  in  word  and  doctrine,"  it  is 
rather  a  service  wdiich  is  incidental  to  his  office, 
an  appendage  to  it,  rather  than  an  official  act. 
He  may  often  perform  this  service  ;  there  are 
exigencies  in  which   it  is  necessary  that  he 
should  conduct  the  religious  exercises  of  the 
congregation  ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  fitness  and 


ITS   DIVINE  AUTHORITY.  137 

propriety,  rather  than  strictly  a  duty  that  be- 
longs to  his  office.  Nor  does  it  belong  to  the 
deacons  to  be  public  religious  teachers ;  they 
have  an  expressed  commission  from  God  for 
another  and  a  different  service.  The  doctrine 
of  the  Episcopal  church  on  this  subject  is  not  the 
doctrine  of  the  New  Testament.  No  deacon,  as 
such,  has  a  right  to  preach  and  baptize ;  the 
moment  this  right  is  conferred  upon  him,  he 
ceases  to  be  a  deacon,  and  becomes  a  teaching 
presbyter.  It  is  not  by  virtue  of  his  office  as 
a  preacher,  that  he  attends  to  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  poor  ;  nor  by  virtue  of  the  deacon's 
office,  that  he  gives  himself  to  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  word.  The  same  thing  may 
be  said  with  equal,  if  not  greater  emphasis,  of 
every  other  class  of  men.  The  mere  tract 
distributer  is  not  a  minister  of  the  Gospel :  he 
does  not  speak  in  the  name,  and  by  the  author- 
ity of  Christ.  Nor  does  any  private  Christian, 
male  or  female,  however  laborious  their  teach- 
ing and  their  prayers,  and  however  great  the 
service  they  may  render  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  the  appointed 
ambassadors  of  the  Head  and  King  of  the 
Church ;  he  sends  them  on  their  great  and  re- 
sponsible errand,  and  they  possess  authority  to 
publish  his  Gospel  in  his  name,  which  belongs 
exclusively  to  themselves.  It  is  not  an  author- 
ity which  they  usurp,  nor  an  office  which  they 


138  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

themselves  liave  sought;  but  one  which  has 
been  imposed  upon  them.  Tlie  responsibili- 
ties of  it  are  of  no  enviable  kind;  they  must 
give  an  account  of  their  stewardship,  and  such 
an  one  as  no  other  men  must  render.  Nor  are 
the  disabilities  and  dependencies  of  the  office  to 
be  envied.  No  honest,  right-minded  man  was 
ever  invested  with  it  without  much  fear  and 
trembling;  nor  is  there  one  among  them  all  who 
would  ever  have  consented  to  this  investiture 
but  for  the  constraints  of  conscience.  They 
have  been  thrust  forth  into  the  harvest.  The 
office  is  upon  them,  nor  may  they  disclaim 
either  the  responsibilities  or  the  commission, 
without  being  recreant  to  their  trust. 

Now  this  is  one  of  the  strong  peculiarities  of 
the  pulpit,  and  places  it  upon  high  Aantage 
ground.  Its  legitimate  occupants  are  divinely 
commissioned  men.  Inspired  men  they  are 
not,  but  sinning  and  fallible,  like  their  fellows; 
yet  do  they  utter  his  truth,  not  on  their  own 
responsibility,  but  God's; — not  in  their  own 
names,  but  his ; — not  for  themselves,  but  for 
him ;- — not  as  men  merely,  but  as  accredited 
ministers  of  their  divine  Lord  who  sent  them. 
Their  messages  are  not  wise  counsels  merely, 
nor  are  they  merely  seasonable  rebukes  and 
encouragements,  which  men  may  regard  at 
their  option :  they  come  clothed  with  obliga- 
tions that  arc  authoritative,  and  authority  in- 


ITS    DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  139 

finitely  above  that  of  those  who  utter  them. 
Though  they  themselves  are  but  men,  sinning 
men,  worms  of  the  dust,  they  speak  in  God's 
name,  and  what  God  himself  would  utter  were 
he  in  their  place.  It  is  not  simply  the  authority 
of  truth  with  which  they  speak ;  for  then  every 
man  who  utters  truth  woidd  be  invested  with 
this  authority :  it  is  the  authority  of  truth  ut- 
tered by  those  whom  God  has  raised  up,  and 
qualified,  and  sealed  by  solemn  sacrament,  and 
sent  forth,  and  specially  authorized  to  utter  the 
things  that  are  commanded  them  of  him.  This 
is  one  of  the  elements  of  power  which  belongs 
to  the  pulpit,  and  which  gives  it  a  prevalent 
and  permanent  superiority  over  every  other 
method  of  religious  instruction.  Arrogant  as 
this  claim  may  be  in  the  views  of  some,  de- 
spised as  it  may  be  by  others,  and  abused  as  it 
has  been,  is,  and  will  be,  by  an  ambitious  and 
tyrannical  priesthood,- — this  pre-eminence  God 
has  given  it. 

God's  arrangements  are  all  wise.  His  wis- 
dom, whether  regarded  absolutely  and  in  itself, 
or  relatively  to  us,  challenges  our  highest  hom- 
age. Its  arrangements  in  the  particular  we  are 
contemplating  are  enlightened  and  benevolent. 
It  seems  to  be  lowering  the  great  subject,  to 
say  that  it  was  an  expression  of  the  wisest  pol- 
icy to  clothe  his  ministers  with  this  authority; 
but  I  know  not  better  how  to  express  my  ad- 


140  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

miration   of  (liis  arrangement.     Its   leiritimate 
influence  upon  the  mind  of  the  preacher  must, 
in  every  view,  be  potent  for  good,  and  not  for 
evil.     Well  may  it  humble  him  in  the  dust,  to 
reflect  that  he  stands  before  men  as  "  tlie  legate 
of  tlie  skies."     He  must  be  a  most  weak,  as 
well  as  a  most  wicked  man,  whoso   heart   is 
lifted  up  by  such  a  thought  as  this.     In  every 
view,  it  is  a  most  solemn  thought,  and  in  some 
views  a  most  depressing  one ;  and  in  contem- 
plating it,  it  were  no  marvel  if  the  preacher 
should  exclaim,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things  ?"     We   may  all    avcU    tremble  at  the 
thought  of  standing  in  God's  name,  and  by  his 
appointment  proclaiming  the  truths  of  the  ev- 
erlasting  Gospel.     There   is   responsibility  in 
uttering  it,  be  the  lips  whose  they  may  :  how 
great  the  responsibility  when  uttered  in  God's 
name  !     O,  how  often  does  this  thought  rush 
upon  the  preacher's  mind,  as  he  treads  his  way 
to  the  house  of  God  !     How  it  awes  him  into 
reverence,  moves  him  to  fidelity  and  earnest- 
ness, and  gives  solemnity  and  tenderness  even 
to  his  severest  admonitions!     How  is  it  fitted 
to  quench  his  thirst  for  fame,  to  call  to  mind 
that  he  speaks  in  His  name  Avho  was  despised 
and   rejected    of  men, — who   was   spit    upon, 
scourged,   and    crucified!     What  lias    such   a 
man  to  do  with  being  a  "  fiishionable  preacher," 
or  with  aiming  to  gratify  the  gay  world  ?     It 


ITS    DIVINE    AUTHORITY.  141 

is  the  Master  who  sent  him  whose  approl3ation 
he  seeks ;  the  only  testimonial  that  can  satisfy 
him  as  a  man  of  God,  and  a  Christian  minister, 
is  from  the  lips  of  his  Divine  Lord,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant !" 

There  is  one  particular  in  which  this  thought 
has  a  most  appropriate  and  powerful  influence. 
Few  personal  qualities  are  more  indispensable 
to  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  than  a  high  degree 
of  moral  couracre.  His  mind  must  be  familiar 
with  great  things,  and  preserve  itself  undaunted 
amidst  opposition  and  danger.  The  fear  "  of 
man  bringeth  a  snare,"  and  should  find  no  place 
in  the  pulpit.  And  whence  the  victory  over 
a  pusillanimous  mind,  which  embarrasses  so 
many  preachers,  if  not  from  the  thought  that 
they  are  .God's  servants  ?  Moses  trembled  not 
before  the  haughty  despot  of  Egypt,  because 
he  Avas  the  messenger  of  Israel's  God.  Elijah 
quailed  not  in  the  presence  of  the  bloody  Ahab, 
because  God  sent  him.  "  Fear  not,  Paul,  thou 
must  be  brought  before  kings;"  and  he  did  not 
fear,  because  he  stood  before  them  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority  of  Him  who  is  the 
"  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,"  and  the 
Lord  of  the  universe.  See  him  at  Athens,  at 
Jerusalem,  at  Cesarea,  when  philosophers  cow- 
ered before  him,  and  the  proud  Roman  trem- 
bled. "  Whether  it  be  right  to  hearken  unto 
ycm,  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye," — this  was 


142  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

the  bold  appeal  of  God's  commissioned  servants 
in  other  days.  No  matter  what  the  difficulty, 
or  danger,  that  lies  in  their  course,  there  is  that 
in  the  bosom  of  every  intrepid  teacher  of  God's 
truth,  that,  whether  he  wake  or  sleep,  is  re- 
iterating the  thought,  God  sends  me,  and  I  must 
go;  God  speaks  hy  me,  and  I  must  speak.  What 
but  thoughts  and  sentiments  like  these,  sus- 
tained John  IIuss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  in 
the  presence  of  the  perfidious  Sigismund ;  and 
John  Knox,  in  the  presence  of  the  almost 
adored  Queen  of  Scotland  ?  When  entreated 
not  to  present  himself  at  the  Diet  about  to  con- 
vene in  the  imperial  city  of  Worms,  in  Ger- 
many, "  I  must  go;'  says  Luther,  "were  there 
as  many  devils  in  Worms  as  there  are  tiles 
on  the  houses."  Nil  desperandum,  Christo 
duce;" — it  is  the  order  of  his  Master,  and 
lie  had  nothing  to  be  afraid  of.  That  distin- 
guished American  preacher,  Samuel  Davies, 
then  the  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jer- 
sey, when  on  a  visit  to  England,  in  behalf  of 
the  college,  was  invited  to  j^reach  before 
George  III.  His  youthful  queen  was  sitting 
by  his  side  ;  and  so  enchanted  were  they  by  the 
preacher's  eloquence,  that  the  king  expressed 
his  admiration  in  no  measured  terms,  and  so 
audibly  and  rudely  as  to  draw  the  attention  of 
the  audience,  and  interrupt  the  service.  The 
preacher  made  a  sudden  and  solemn  pause  in 


'  ITS   DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  143 

his  discourse,  looked  around  upon  the  audi- 
ence, and  fixing  his  piercing  eye  upon  Eng- 
land's noisy  monarch,  said,  "  When  the  lion 
roars,  the  beasts  of  the  forest  tremble ;  when 
Jehovah  speaks,  let  the  kings  of  the  earth  keep 
silence  before  him !"  He  was  God's  messen- 
ger ;  he  feared  not  man,  who  is  a  worm.  It  is 
not  God's  ministers  who  tremble  amid  such 
scenes. 

Shall  I  speak  of  the  influence  of  this  thought 
upon  the  hearers  ?  Who  has  not  felt  it  1  "  For 
this  cause,"  says  the  Apostle,  writing  to  the 
Thessalonians,  "  for  this  cause  also  thank  we 
God  without  ceasing,  because  when  ye  received 
the  word  of  God  Avhich  ye  heard  of  us,  ye  re- 
ceived it  not  as  the  w^ord  of  men,  but  as  it  is  in 
truth  the  word  of  God."  Men  would  hear 
very  differently,  if  they  were  satisfied  that 
ministers  had  no  authority  to  preach.  They 
need  the  thought  that  they  are  listening  to  in- 
structions uttered  by  higher  than  any  human 
authority,  in  order  to  give  weight  and  emphasis 
to  those  instructions.  When  Cornelius  and  his 
fellow-worshippers  were  assembled  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Peter,  he  addressed  this  apostle  in  the 
memorable  and  beautiful  words,  "  Now,  there- 
fore, we  are  all  here  before  God,  to  hear  all 
things  that  are  commanded  thee  of  God,"  The 
thought  that  God's  messenger  was  coming  to 
address  them,  brought  them  together:    none 


144  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

were  absent ;  "  we  are  all  liere."  It  made  them 
sensi])li'  in  \\\\o'^ii  presence  \\\q^  were;  "we  are 
all  here  present  before  God.'"  It  disposed  them 
to  hear ;  no  matter  Avhat  the  message,  or  how 
unwelcome,  they  would  hear  it  all ; — "  all 
tln'?i(jrs  that  are  commanded  thee  of  God." 
And  it  was  because  God  had  cominanded  him 
to  speak  in  his  name. 

The  thought  is  one  which  may  well  fill  the 
hearers  with  awe,  as  well  as  their  ministers. 
"  He  that  heareth  you,''^  saith  the  Saviour, 
"  heareth  me,  and  he  that  despisetli  you,  des- 
piseth  me."  It  is  not  ministers  whom  men 
honor,  or  dishonor,  ^^hen  they  honor  or  dis- 
honor their  message ;  it  is  Him  who  sent 
them.  They  come  to  a  guilty  world,  with 
their  letters  patent,  their  instructions  signed 
and  sealed  from  the  Court  of  Heaven ;  and 
woe  to  the  people  or  the  man  that  accounts 
their  message  a  little  matter !  Nothing  can 
relieve  them  from  the  obligation  of  receiv- 
ing them,  and  the  truth  which  they  utter.  It 
was  of  one  of  his  ancient  ministers  that  God 
said,  "  I  will  put  my  words  in  his  mouth,  and 
he  shall  speak  all  that  I  command  him.  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  will  not 
hearken  to  my  words,  which  he  shall  speak  in 
my  name,  I  avill  require  it  of  him."  When 
he  first  commissioned  the  twelve  disciples,  he 
told  them,  "  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  you, 


ITS  DIVINE   AUTHORITY.  145 

nor  hear  your  words,  when  ye  depart  out  of 
that  house,  or  city,  shake  off  the  dust  of  your 
feet.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  he  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that  city." 
It  is  a  solemn  truth,  but  one  which  the  Bible 
utters,  that  the  eternal  happiness  of  men  is  sus- 
pended upon  their  receiving  the  Gospel  thus 
preached  in  Christ's  name.  There  is  no  one 
thing  they  are  more  bound  to  do  than  this. 
They  may  quarrel  with  God's  ministers,  and 
quarrel  they  may  with  God's  truth,  but  this 
does  not  relax  the  bond.  They  may  think  little 
of  the  ministerial  oflice  ;  but  this  does  not  re- 
lieve them.  Nothing  is  little  which  is  of  God's 
appointment.  There  is  a  reality  in  the  minis- 
terial commission ;  and  though  we  claim  for  it 
no  magical  influence,  and  none  of  the  authority 
of  the  civil  power,  yet  is  it  one  of  those  ele- 
ments of  influence  and  of  strong  moral  power 
with  which  God  himself  has  invested  the  am- 
bassadors of  his  truth  and  grace.  It  stands  upon 
a  sure  foundation,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it.  It  cannot  be  a  weak  and 
insignificant  agency.  There  is  power  in  the 
pulpit,  when  girt  round  by  such  a  rock  as  this. 

7 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    PULPIT    ASSOCIATED    WITH    THE    POWER    OF    GOD. 

The  more  immediate  result  to  be  secured 
by  the  instructions  of  the  pulpit,  is  the  recep- 
tion of  the  truth  it  inculcates.  The  alienated 
mind  and  heart  of  man  must  be  made  to  fall 
in  with  the  truth  of  God,  else  is  the  word 
preached  no  better  than  seed  cast  upon  the 
barren  rock. 

There  is  one  fact  in  relation  to  the  pulpit, 
which  is  of  more  importance  than  any  one 
which  we  have  hitherto  suggested.  It  is  that 
tlie  ])ulpit  is  associated  with  the  mighty  power  of 
God  in  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  men. 
Let  this  fact  be  determined,  and  the  pulpit  is 
just  as  powerful  as  Omnipotence  itself. 

The  different  views  which  have  been  taken 
of  the  doctrine  of  Divine  influence  are  alto- 
gether dependent  on  the  views  which  different 
persons  have  taken  of  the  revealed  doctrine 
of  human  depravity.  The  Scriptural  views  of 
this  latter  doctrine,  we  conceive  to  be  very 
plain.  Man  is  far  off  from  God  by  nature  ;  he 
is  very  far  gone  from  original   rigliteousness. 


THE   POWER  OF   GOD.  147 

It  is  a  fearful  charge,  but  no  less  true  than 
fearful,  that  "  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against 
God."  "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh;"  and  this  carnal  mind,  this  whole  nature 
of  fallen  man  is  corrupt ;  there  is  nothing 
either  in  his  understanding,  conscience,  or  af- 
fections that  leads  him  to  sincere  and  cordial 
subjection  to  the  truth  of  God,  He  is  not  an 
ignorant  man  merely,  he  is  a  wicked  man ;  he 
is  not  a  mistaken  and  inadvertent  rebel,  he  is 
a  deliberate  and  obdurate  one  ;  he  is  not  merely- 
dead  to  holiness,  but  active  to  sin.  He  loves 
not  the  character  of  God  ;  he  cannot  abide  his 
government  and  law  ;  his  heart  is  desperately- 
wicked,  and  he  is  restrained  from  the  greatest 
excesses  in  wickedness,  only  by  those  out- 
ward circumstances,  and  those  inward  fears 
that  are  found  in  the  preventing  Providence 
and  grace  of  the  Most  High. 

Nothing  can  subdue  such  a  spirit  but  Om- 
nipotent power.  Every  man  in  this  fallen 
world  is  sure  to  fall  out  with  the  truth  of  God, 
unless  there  be  superadded  to  the  presentation 
of  the  truth  itself,  the  omnipotent  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  causing  him  to  receive  it  in 
love.  The  sacred  Scriptures  are  full  of  this 
truth.  It  is  taught  by  all  those  instructions 
in  the  Okl  Testament,  which  speak  of  "  cir- 
cumcising the  heart  to  love  the  Lord;" — of 
"  creating  a  clean  heart,  and  renewing  a  right 


148  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

spirit ;" — of  "  takins:  away  tlie  heart  of  stone, 
and  givinc:  a  heart  of  flesh  ;" — of  "  putting  the 
fear  of  God  in  the  heart,  and  writing  his  law 
upon  it ;"  and  of  "  making  his  people  willing 
in  (he  day  of  his  power."  And  what  is  the 
import  of  those  instructions  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, which  speak  of  "  heing  born,  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God  ;" — of  "  God  working 
in  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure;" 
— of  no  man  being  able  "  to  come  to  Christ, 
except  the  Father  draw  him  ;" — of  the  Spirit 
"  convincing  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment ;" — of  his  "  taking  the  things  that 
are  Christ's,  and  showing  them  to  men ;" — of 
his  "  opening  the  heart  to  attend  to  the  things 
spoken;" — his  "  turning  men  from  darkness  to 
light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God," 
his  "  commanding  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  and  shining  in  the  heart  to  give  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  God's  glory  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ ;" — his  rescuing  "  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  translating  into  the 
kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son ;"  and  his  quick- 
ening those  who  are  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins  ?"  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  im- 
port of  such  declarations  as  these. 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  the  word 
of  God  teaches  with  ecpial  exj)licitness,  that 
while   his  Spirif  is  tiie   cause,  his  truth  is  the 


THE   POWER  OF   GOD.  149 

instrument  of  this  great  moral  transformation. 
It  is  the  truth  which  affects  us,  but  it  is  the 
Spirit  of  God  which  causes  us  to  receive  the 
truth.  God  does  not  operate  less  really,  or  less 
effectually,  because  he  operates  instrumentally. 
He  is  the  cause,  the  omnipotent  cause,  whetlier 
he  condescends  to  make  use  of  the  most  brill- 
iant, or  the  meanest  preacher.  The  pulpit  is 
the  great  instrumentality  in  this  work  of  mercy, 
but  it  is  no  more.  "  Paul  may  plant,  and  Apol- 
los  may  water,  but  it  is  God  that  givetli  the 
increase." 

The  dependence  of  men  on  the  efficient 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  one  of  the  great 
peculiarities  of  the  Christian  faith.  And,  like 
all  its  great  peculiarities,  it  is  as  precious  as  it 
is  peculiar.  To  none  is  it  more  precious  than 
the  pulpit ;  it  is  not  its  auxiliary,  but  its  life- 
giving  power.  When  we  preach  that  the 
foundation  of  the  spiritual  edifice  is  laid  deep, 
and  its  corner-stone  cemented  with  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  we  fix  our  hopes  on  the  Spirit  of 
God  as  the  Almighty  Architect  who  is  to  rear, 
and  beautify  the  living  temple.  We  cut  the 
sinews  of  the  Christian  ministry  when  we  de- 
preciate the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Better, 
so  far  as  the  spiritual  interests  of  men  are  con- 
cerned, demolish  our  sanctuaries  than  exclude 
from  them  this  heavenly  guest. 

We   feel    our    dependence    upon   God   for 


150  THE   POWER  OF    THE   PULPIT. 

mcmicr  tliiiiii^.s  tliaii  tlio  conversion  of  the  soul. 
*' Except  tlie  Lord  l)uil(l  the  house,  they  labor 
in  vain  that  build  it."     The  meanest  seed  does 
not  vegetate  without  his  power ;  the  lily  grows 
and  is  arrayed  in  all  its  gorgeous  beauty  by  his 
unseen,  but  omnipotent  hand.     The  achieve- 
ments of  science,  the  triumphs  of  liberty,  the 
wealth  and  powers   of  man,  are   all  his  gift. 
Why  his  presence  and  power  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  other  scenes,  and  why  men  should 
be   eager  to  throw  it  into  retirement  in  that 
greatest   of  all    his   works,   the   perfected  re- 
demption of  the   human  soul,  it  is  difficult  to 
tell.     There  is  a  point  where  every  other  work 
of  God  terminates  and  dies;  this  is  onward, 
forever  onward,  and  because  it  is  God's  work. 
No  created  thing  is  greater  than  the  power  of 
the  human  mind ;  it  is  power  which  Omnipo- 
tence only  can  control.     The  arguments  of  the 
pulpit   may  convince  it ;  the   eloquence  of  the 
pulpit   may  move   it;    but  neither   argument, 
nor  persuasion  can  effect  the  great  moral  trans- 
formation which  it  needs.      It    cannot   break 
one    chain   of    its   fearful    vassalage.     It    can 
scarcely  arrest  the  ravages  of  the  malady  which 
curses  it,  much  less  reach  the   sources  of  the 
disease,  and  cure  the  plague  within.     There 
is  not  even  any  great  display  of  human  instru- 
mentality in  the  w^ork.     They  are  the  weak 
contending   with  the  strong;    the   instrument 


THE   POWER  OF    GOD.  151 

is  like  the  saw  and  the  hammer,  effective 
only  by  extraneous  power.  The  "  strong  man 
armed"  is  to  be  overcome,  and  is  vanquished 
only  by  One  who  is  "  stronger  than  he."  Hu- 
man instrumentality  is  never  so  effective  in 
this  work  as  when  it  is  most  conscious  of  its 
own  weakness,  and  keeps  itself  most  out  of 
sight.  It  is  the  secret  agency  of  God  that  ac- 
complishes it ;  and  no  flesh  may  glory  in  liis 
presence.  "  It  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor 
of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth 
mercy."  His  power  shines  and  triumphs.  It 
is  an  influence  from  above,  designed  to  pros- 
trate the  creature  in  the  dust,  and  give  ever- 
lasting glory  to  him  who  died.  "  He  shall 
glorify  me  ;  for  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and  show 
it  unto  you."  If  there  is  any  thing  in  which 
man  is  nothing,  and  God  is  all,  it  is  in  the  great 
work  of  quickening  those  who  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins. 

Nothing  is  more  plain  than  that  this  is  God's 
method  of  saving  the  souls  of  men.  To  lose 
sight  of  it  is  either  to  sink  in  dejection,  or  be 
puffed  with  pride  and  fall  into  the  snare  of  the 
devil.  "  He  giveth  grace  to  the  humble  ;  the 
proud  he  knoweth  afar  off." 

We  have  not  been  without  fears  for  the  pul- 
pit, within  a  few  years  past,  because,  in  some 
quarters  of  the  land,  there  is  so  much  loose 
teaching  on  the  subject  of  which  we  are  speak- 


152  THE   POWER   OK   THE    PULPIT. 

ing.  One  teaches  that  the  Spirit  of  CJod  does 
as  much  for  one  man  as  another;  another  af- 
firms, that  the  holiness  which  is  caused  by  Om- 
nipotent po\yer  cannot  he  holiness  because  it  is 
thus  caused  ;  and  a  third  more  boldly  declares 
with  Pelagius,  that  "  for  us  to  be  men  is  of  God, 
but  that  for  us  to  be  righteous  is  of  ourselves." 
We  look  upon  all  such  teaching  as  a  death- 
blow to  the  power  of  the  pulpit.  If  it  ended 
in  mere  theory,  and  were  a  question  which 
concerns  different  systems  of  intellectual  phi- 
losophy only,  we  would  not  open  our  lips.  But 
these  are  matters  which  strike  at  the  highest 
interests  of  holiness.  It  is  not  a  little  to  be 
wondered  at  that  men  are  not  afraid  thus  to 
tamper  with  a  truth  on  which  all  the  success 
of  the  Christian  ministry  depends,  lest  they 
should  grieve  the  Spirit  from  the  churches,  and 
be  left  to  mourn  over  their  own  folly,  though 
too  late  to  repair  the  evil  they  have  done.  If 
there  be  any  hope  for  the  anxious  heart  of  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  this  dependence  on  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  rock  on  which 
he  rests.  And  never  is  that  dependence  more 
deeply  felt  than  when  the  Spirit  is  most  freely 
imparted.  The  work  of  Christ  in  the  matter 
of  the  sinner's  justification  is  not  more  impor- 
tant than  the  work  of  his  Spirit  in  his  conver- 
sion and  progressive  fitness  for  heaven.  I 
would  no  sooner  take  the  crown  from  the  head 


THE   POWER  OF   GOD.  153 

of  God  the  Sanctifier  than  from  the  head  of  God 
the  Redeemer.  I  Avould  prove  the  true  and 
proper  divinity  of  the  Sanctifier,  just  as  I  would 
the  true  and  proper  divinity  of  the  Redeemer, 
— by  his  tvorks.  A  creature  might  as  well  com- 
mission the  sun  to  rise,  and  appoint  the  place 
of  his  going  down,  as  assume  the  prerogative 
of  God's  mighty  Spirit  in  the  work  of  man's 
salvation.  Nor  would  I  guard  this  prerogative 
the  less  cautiously,  because  it  is  recorded  of 
this  ever-blessed  Spirit,  that  he  "  shall  not 
speak  of  himself;"  he  has  left  his  great  tuork  in 
our  world  to  speak  for  him,  to  be  the  asserter 
of  his  divine  glories.  I  would  guard  it  the 
more  cautiously,  too,  because  he  has  but  just 
entered  on  his  wonder-working  career,  and  be- 
cause his  divine  glory  has  been  left  so  long  in 
abeyance,  and  seen  only  in  dim  retirement 
compared  with  the  bright  splendor  Avith  which 
he  will  hereafter  be  encircled.  The  time  is 
comins:  when  this  third  Person  in  the  adorable 
Trinity  will  more  illustriously  clothe  himself 
with  Deity,  and  his  Godhead  will  shine  forth  in 
all  the  wonders  of  his  power,  and  when  the 
evidence  of  it  will  be  carried  home  to  the  soul. 
As  the  Church  and  the  world  behold  more  and 
more  of  his  omnipotent  influence,  and  as  the 
mountains  flow  down  at  his  presence,  no  longer 
will  it  be  questioned  that  he  is  the  gracious 


ly* 


154  THE    POWHR   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

God,  and  that  (he  fruits  of  his  grace  are  proofs 
of  his  omnipotence. 

We  read  in  the  Scriptures  of  "  the  love  of 
the  Spirit."  We  should  be  cautious  lest  we 
show  ourselves  ungrateful.  One  of  the  most 
affecting  views  of  the  thought  we  are  attempt- 
ins:  to  illustrate  is  the  wide,  the  infinite  con- 
trast  it  presents  between  the  rigid  and  severe 
obduracy  of  the  human  heart  and  the  unutter- 
able love  of  the  Heavenly  Comf(jrter.  Where 
truth  cnliglitens,  convinces,  urges,  and  is  re- 
pelled ;  his  work  is  eminently  one  of  love  and 
mercy.  He  bows  the  heavens,  and  comes 
down ;  yea,  he  dwells  with  men.  Such  love  is 
more  than  human.  It  is  not  found  on  earth. 
It  does  not  belong  to  men.  Its  dwelling  is  in 
heaven.  Heaven  is  the  residence  of  infinite 
love, — love  that  stoops  to  dwell  with  men  on 
the  earth,  to  light  up  their  hopes  and  smiles, 
and  throw  such  rich  charms  over  this  despond- 
ing world.  "  Upon  the  land  of  my  people  shall 
come  up  thorns  and  briers ;  yea,  upon  all  the 
houses  of  joy  in  the  joyous  city.  The  pas- 
tures shall  be  forsaken  ;  the  multitude  of  the 
city  shall  be  left ;  the  forts  and  towers  shall  be 
for  dens  forever  ;  a  joy  of  wild  asses,  a  pasture 
of  flocks,  imtil  the  Sjnrit  he  poured  from  on 
highr 

It  may  be  thought,  by  some,  that  these  re- 
marks are  not  called  for.     We  difler  from  those 


THE   POWER   OF   GOD.  155 

who  form  such  conclusions,  and  think  them  in 
keeping  "with  our  theme.  None  need  to  feel 
them  so  deeply  as  the  ministers  of  Christ.  No 
matter  how  learned  or  simple  the  instructions 
of  the  pulpit  may  be  ;  no  matter  how  rich  and 
varied,  or  how  well  adapted  and  spiritual ;  did 
it  speak  with  the  tongue  of  Paul,  or  of  angels, 
it  would  be  powerless  without  the  superadded 
power  of  God.  Depression  and  discouragement 
would  everywhere  attend  it,  could  not  the 
ministry,  and  the  people,  on  their  behalf,  take 
hold  of  God's  everlasting  strength.  I  see  not 
how  any  man  could  consent  to  occupy  it,  who 
calls  in  question  this  delightfully  animating 
truth.  Cast  down,  discouraged,  depressed  even 
to  despair  may  those  of  us  be  who  minister  at 
the  altar,  if  we  despair  not  of  help  from  crea- 
tures, and  betake  not  ourselves  to  higher  re- 
sources than  an  arm  of  flesh. 

When  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  was  set  down  iu 
the  valley  of  bones,  "  very  many  and  very  dry," 
the  God  of  Israel  said  to  him,  "  Son  of  man, 
can  these  hones  live  ?"  What  answer  could  he 
give  ?  "  O  Lord  God,  thou  knowest !"  There 
was  no  other  answer.  When  God's  ministers 
are  sent  to  prophesy  to  men  dead  in  sin,  they  do 
not  know  the  results  of  their  message.  There 
is  nothing  in  ministers  themselves,  nothing  in 
the  mere  truth  they  utter,  nothing  in  the  pres- 
ent character  of  those  they  address,  that  fur- 


156  THE   POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT. 

iiishes  a  fuvorable  .solution  of  this  great  prob- 
lem, (»()(!  only  knows,  because  he  only  sees 
the  end  iVoni  the  beginning,  and  he  only  is 
able  (()  (j[uieken  those  who  arc  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins.  There  is  but  this  one  source 
of  light  and  hope  :  "  Prophesy  unto  the  ivind, 
prophesy,  son  of  man,  and  say  unto  the  wind, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Come  from  the  four 
winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain 
that  they  may  live !"  Now  the  death-like 
scene  is  altered ;  it  is  no  longer  the  silent  and 
motionless  valley.  There  is  a  noise  and  a 
shaking;  bone  comes  to  his  bone,  flesh  and 
sinews  come  up  upon  them ;  that  field  of  death 
is  transformed  to  an  exceeding  great  multitude 
of  living  men,  the  strong  pulsations  of  the  warm 
heart  are  there,  and  there  are  the  voices  of 
praise. 

So  it  is  with  every  preacher  of  the  Gospel, 
so  far  as  it  regards  his  perfect  and  absolute  de- 
pendence upon  the  Spirit  of  God  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  ministrations.  The  treasures  of  truth 
are  committed  to  him,  "  earthen  vessel"  as  he 
is,  that  "  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be 
of  God,  and  not  of  him."  Never,  till  the  ex- 
cellency of  God's  power  is  revealed,  is  the 
power  of  the  pulpit  known.  Nor  may  we  hope 
that  God's  mighty  arm  will  be  revealed,  until 
this  truth  is  known  and  felt.  One  reason  why 
God's  Spirit  is  so  often  withheld  is,  that  this 


THE   POWER   OF   GOD.  157 

great  truth  is  lost  sight  of;  or,  if  not  lost  sight 
of,  is  coldly  recognized,  and  does  but  form  a 
feature  of  that  languid  and  dead  orthodoxy, 
which,  while  it  may  govern  the  views,  has 
very  little  to  do  with  the  heart.  This  is  not 
the  place  which  such  a  truth  deserves ;  it  must 
be  thought  of,  and  prized,  and  leaned  upon, 
and  prove  itself  the  most  delightful  of  all  in- 
citements to  effort.  Just  as  the  sinner,  in  the 
last  stages  of  conviction,  is  driven  from  every 
other  refuge  to  the  power  and  sovereignty  of 
that  immeasurable  grace  which  he  has  so  long 
quarrelled  with,  must  the  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel, as  well  as  those  to  whom  they  minister, 
after  they  have  labored  in  vain,  and  spent  their 
strength  for  nought  and  in  vain,  lift  their  eyes 
beyond  the  everlasting  hills,  and  say, — "My 
soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God,  for  my  expec- 
tation is  from  him !"  They  would  not  so  often 
labor  in  vain,  were  those  happy  seasons  of  more 
frequent  recurrence  when  this  truth  is  truly 
felt.  Jehoshaphat  was  strong,  even  before  the 
combined  forces  of  Amnion,  and  Moab,  and 
Mount  Seir,  when  he  "  stood  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  before  the  new  court,  and  said,  O  our 
God,  wilt  thou  not  judge  them  ?  for  we  have 
no  might  against  this  great  company  that  com- 
eth  against  us;  neither  know  tve  what  to  do; 
but  our  eyes  are  upon  thee  T  The  strength 
of  the  pulpit  is  in  its  own  conscious  weakness. 


158  THE   POWER   OF  THE    PULPIT. 

aiul  in  God's  almighty  })o\ver.  Ministers  always 
feel  strong  when  they  have  this  reliance.  "  Nev- 
er," said  the  sainted  Pcarce,  "  have  I  been  more 
deeply  taught  my  own  notjiingness  ;  and  never 
hath  the  power  of  God  more  evidently  rested 
upon  me."  And  thousands  of  the  living  min- 
istry, and  tens  of  thousands  among  the  dead, 
have  responded  to  this  delghtful  truth. 

There  is  power  in  the  pulpit  when  it  is  thus 
allied  to  the  power  of  God.  We  can  do  every- 
thing through  him,  without  whom  we  can  do 
nothing.  The  pulpit  asks  but  this;  in  this  it 
is  diligent  in  labor,  resolute  in  trial,  buoyant 
with  hope,  and  strong  in  weakness.  Study 
and  research  are  no  longer  abortive,  because 
the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadows  the  re- 
tirement of  the  preacher.  Sabbaths  are  no 
longer  powerless,  because  the  Lord  of  the 
Sabbath  gives  testimony  to  the  word  of  his 
grace.  The  patient  and  untiring  man  of  God 
no  longer  faints  under  difficulty  and  discour- 
agement, nor  sinks  under  a  sense  of  his  own 
responsibility  and  infirmities,  because  he  stag- 
gers not  at  the  promise,  "  As  the  rain  cometh 
down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and  return- 
eth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the  earth,  that  it 
may  give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  bread  to  the 
eater ;  so  shall  my  word  be,  that  goetli  forth 
out  of  my  mouth ;  it  shall  not  return  void,  but 
accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  prosper 


THE   POWER  OF   GOD.  159 

in  the  thing  whereto  I  send  it."  Light  dawns 
upon  the  preacher's  path  then.  "  He  goes  out 
with  joy,  and  is  led  forth  with  peace.  The 
mountains  and  the  hills  break  forth  before  him 
into  singing,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  clap 
their  hands."  The  fir  comes  up  instead  of  the 
thorn,  and  the  myrtle  in  the  place  of  the  brier. 
Such  days  there  have  been,  and  such  days 
there  will  be,  whenever  the  arm  of  the  Eter- 
nal King  is  made  bare,  and  Jesus,  being  by 
the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost,  sheds  forth  his  influence  upon  the 
sons  of  men.  Ministers  will  then  have  more 
honorable  thoughts  of  God,  and  the  promise 
will  be  fulfilled, — "  Them  that  honor  me,  I 
will  honor."  The  lofty  shall  be  bowed  down, 
and  the  lowly  shall  be  lifted  up,  and  the  Lord 
alone  exalted  in  that  day.  "  When  the  Lord 
doth  build  up  Zion,  he  shall  appear  in  his 
glory."  He  that  dwells  between  the  cheru- 
bim shall  shine  forth  in  the  glory  of  his  holi- 
ness, in  the  glory  of  his  justice,  in  the  glory 
of  his  mercy,  in  the  glory  of  his  faithfulness, 
in  the  glory  of  all  his  great  and  glorious  de- 
signs, and  in  nothing  more  than  in  the  glory 
of  his  power.  The  Father  shall  be  exalted, 
the  Son  shall  be  exalted,  and  the  Spirit,  little 
known  hitherto  among  men,  shall  claim  his 
honors  by  his  mighty  deeds.     There  are  no 


160  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

scenes  more  beauliilil  Uiis  side  the  heavenly 
city,  than  these;  scenes  amid  which  the  an- 
Cfels  of  God  may  Avell  delight  to  linger,  and 
from  which  they  retire  only  to  bear  the  tidings 
that  the  dead  live,  and  the  lost  are  found. 

Such  is  the  powder  of  the  pulpit,  and  such 
are  the  constituent  elements  of  that  power. 
They  are  the  truth  of  w  hich  it  is  the  vehicle  ; 
truth  from  the  living  teacher ;  truth  uttered  in 
the  name  and  hy  the  authority  of  God ;  truth 
accompanied  with  his  ^nighty  power.  This  is  the 
great  agency  by  w  hich  our  lost  race,  in  aug- 
mented numbers,  is  to  be  subdued  to  the  faith 
of  the  Gospel.  Other  agencies  there  are,  and 
will  be ;  but  they  are  all  associated  w  ith  a 
preached  Gospel, — derive  their  influence  from 
it,  and  to  this  selected  instrumentality  of  heav- 
enly wisdom  is  to  be  attributed  their  very  be- 
ing. By  these  four  great  elements  of  power, 
the  pulpit  is  destined  to  govern  the  world,  to 
the  full  extent  to  w  hich  it  will  be  governed 
by  the  truth  and  grace  that  are  revealed  from 
heaven.  Its  influence  will  run  parallel  with 
the  religious  and  moral  advancement  of  the 
race.  The  gloomy  speculations  of  infidelity 
w  ill  give  way  before  it,  and  give  place  to  a 
faith  that  generates  immortal  hopes.  The 
mutual  animosities  of  men  will  be  lost  in  the 
tranquillity  of  their  social  joys,  and  lawless  an- 
archy and  iron-hearted  depotism  will  be  super- 


I  THE   POWER  OF    GOD.  161 

seded  by  tliat  rapid  and  general  progress  of 
human  society  that  is  based  on  good  and 
wholesome  laws,  wisely  administered  by  men 
who  fear  God,  and  hate  evil.  Senates  will 
yet  listen  to  the  voice  of  God's  messengers,  and 
kings  will  respect  their  message.  It  will  yet 
make  kings  nursing  fatliers,  and  queens  nur- 
sing mothers  to  God's  Church.  It  will  yet 
vanquish  and  annihilate  armies,  and  beat  their 
swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks,  so  that  the  nations  shall 
learn  war  no  more.  As  the  Lord  liveth,  and 
his  only  begotten  Son  sits  on  the  right  hand 
of  Majesty  in  the  heavens,  it  shall  yet  pursue 
its  conquests  over  ignorance,  idolatry,  error, 
and  every  species  of  immorality  and  crime, 
till  the  "  skies  drop  down  from  above,  and  the 
earth  opens  and  brings  forth  salvation;"  till 
there  shall  be  "  new  heavens  and  a  new  eartli," 
because  the  Lord  God  ''  clothes  his  priests 
with  salvation,"  and  creates  "  Jerusalem  a  re- 
joicing, and  her  people  a  joy."  "  Not  by  might, 
nor  by  power :"  man  is  a  little  thing,  God  is 
all.  The  pulpit  is  nothing,  save  when  these 
elements  of  an  unearthly  influence  gather 
around  it.  Heaven  is  the  seat  of  power. 
The  controversy  is  sharp  and  bitter ;  yet  He 
"  that  liath  the  key  of  David,  and  openeth 
and  no  man  shutteth,  and  shutteth  and  no 
man  openeth,"  will  break  in  pieces  the  gates 


162  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

of  brass,  and  cut  the  bars  of  iron  asunder." 
His  Spirit  slmll  disarm  the  strong  man,  dis- 
lodge the  enemy  from  his  fortresses,  gather 
his  honors  on  the  field  of  a  bloodless  conquest, 
and  fnid  his  reward  in  the  purity  and  blessed- 
ness of  a  redeemed  and  regenerated  world. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    GREAT    OBJECT    OF    PREACHING. 

The  third  general  object  we  have  in  view  in 
illustrating  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  relates  to 
the  duty  of  ministers  themselves.  The  in- 
quiry is  certainly  an  appropriate  one,  What 
course  of  conduct  is  incmnbent  on  ministers  them- 
selves, in  order  to  makefidl  iwoof  of  the  power 
with  which  the  jndpit  is  invested  ? 

The  constituent  elements  of  this  power  are 
more  than  human,  yet  are  they  intrusted  to 
men.  It  is  no  infringement  upon  the  Divine 
prerogative  to  affirm,  that  the  preacher  himself 
has  an  agency  in  carrying  the  designs  of  the 
pulpit  into  effect.  If  he  is  a  mere  blower  of 
the  Gospel  trumpet,  he  ought  to  know  how  to 
blow  it ;  his  own  heart  must  be  in  sweet  ac- 
cordance with  the  glad  tidings  which  he  utters, 
and  his  fingers  trained  to  sweep  the  strings  of 
the  sacred  lyre.  It  is  a  mighty  trust  which  is 
committed  to  him.  He  has  something  to  do  in 
the  work  which  the  pulpit  accomplishes ;  he 
himself  is  employed  in  giving  direction  to  this 


164  THE   POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT. 

great  moral  machinery.     lie  is  not  a  mere  au- 
tomaton, set  up  in  the  sanctuary  for  sliow ;  a 
something  for  men  to  look  at,  and  then  go  away 
and  (nlk  about,  as  they  wouhl  about  the  acts, 
and  scenes,  and  persons,  of  a  dramatic  exhibi- 
tion.    It  is  not  enough  that  he  go  through  the 
labor  of  preparing  two  or  three   discourses  a 
Aveek ;  and  then,  when  the  Sabbath  bell  calls 
him,  repair  to  the  house  of  God,  and  with  all 
sobriety  and  decency  deliver  them  to  the  peo- 
ple of  his  charge,  in  the  name  and  by  the  au- 
thority of  his  divine  Master.     His  work  is  not 
done   then;  it  may  be  it  is  not  truly  begun. 
Nor  may  he,  if  this  is  all  that  he  does,  soothe 
his  conscience  with  the  thought  that  though  his 
pulpit  be  powerless,  and  his  hearers  are  not 
saved,  "  he  has  delivered  his  own  soul."     The 
Gospel  ought  not  to  lose  its  energy  in  his  hands  ; 
rather  ought  his  ministrations  to  be  such,  and 
so  fortified   and   adorned,    as  to  develop   and 
express  that  energy,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and 
the  salvation  of  men. 

A  broad  field  here  opens  upon  us,  did  w^e 
purpose  to  traverse  it.  Our  course  is  a  limited 
one,  and  must  exclude  many  topics,  for  the 
purpose  of  dAvelling  on  the  few^  No  man  of 
evangelical  views  hesitates  to  affirm  that  those 
who  occupy  the  pulpit  should  be  men  of  re- 
spectable talents,  and  "apt  to  teach;"  nor 
that  they  should  be  able  and  thoroughly  edu- 


THE   GREAT  OBJECT  OF   PREACHING.  165 

cated  men,  fitted  by  their  intellectual  furniture 
for  the  exigencies  of  the  Church  and  the  world ; 
nor  that  they  should  be  orthodox  men,  and 
fearless  advocates  of  God's  truth.  These  qual- 
ifications cannot  be  too  thoioughly  urged,  and 
insisted  on  :  where  they  are  wanting,  the  pul- 
pit is  shorn  of  its  strength. 

This  is  not  all  that  the  pulpit  demands.  It 
must  have  something  more  than  this,  or  it  can 
never  exert  its  appropriate  influence.  Just  be- 
fore Paul  was  about  to  be  led  forth  from  his 
prison  at  Rome  to  the  scaffold,  among  other 
paternal  and  divinely-inspired  counsels,  he  ut- 
tered many  of  deep  interest  to  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation.  He  himself  had  struggled  hard, 
and  was  just  about  to  finish  his  course.  He 
had  contended  honorably  and  lawfully,  and 
was  in  daily  expectation  of  his  crown.  "  I  am 
now,"  says  he,  "ready  to  be  offered,  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  Timothy 
was  young ;  he  had  just  put  on  the  armor  ;  and 
it  was  a  most  seasonable  and  every  way  fit- 
ting injunction  for  such  an  one  as  "  Paul  the 
aged  "  to  say  to  him,  "  Do  the  work  of  an  evan- 
gelist;  7nahe  full 2^roof  oi  thy  VLiiwi^iYj .''  These 
general  remarks,  though  we  cannot  enforce 
them  as  we  desire  to  do,  deserve  at  least  the 
following  illustrations. 

The  first  thought  which  suggests  itself  on 
this  branch  of  our  subject  is  the  importance  of 


166  THE   POWER  OP  THE   PULPIT, 

a  single  eye  to  the  great  object  of  preaching  the 
Gospel. 

In  this  world  men  are  educated  for  eternity ; 
a  process  is  here  going  on  which  is  destined  to 
exert  an  influence,  when  earth  and  time  shall 
have  passed  away.  This  is  but  the  dawn  of 
intelligence.  The  movement  of  the  human 
intellect,  but  for  an  occasional  untoward  and 
anomalous  influence,  is  perpetually  onward. 
There  are  instances  in  which  its  approach  to 
the  confines  of  the  eternal  world  has  given  an 
unwonted  impetus  to  its  powers,  and  imparted 
not  only  the  consciousness  that  God  made  it 
to  live,  and  think,  and  act  forever,  but  some 
strong  anticipations  of  its  progressive  career. 
It  does  not  brighten  in  its  course,  to  sink  like 
the  setting  sun,  dazzling  with  its  splendor, 
and  gilding  the  scenery  only  as  long  as  it  is 
seen;  it  sets  to  rise  on  other  spheres,  where 
millions  follow  it  with  their  admiring  gaze. 
Time  is  but  the  outer  court  of  the  temple 
where  this  thinking  existence  remains  only  to 
be  ushered  into  the  sanctuary  of  God,  and  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  ineffable  glory. 
From  the  sun  in  the  firmament,  to  the  hum- 
blest flower  that  blushes  on  its  stalk,  an  in- 
fluence goes  out  to  train  it  up  for  eternity. 
Sympathies  and  solicitudes  are  exhausted  upon 
it,  that  find  no  such -fitting  objects  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  nor  may  it  ever  be  forgotten,  that  un- 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT  OF   PREACHING.  167 

der  every  one  of  these  influences,  it  is  making 
its  way  to  the  splendors  of  the  throne,  or  to 
the  outer  darkness.  Yet,  can  it  not  go  from 
this  world  of  ignorance  and  sin,  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Holy  One,  except  by  a  miracle  of 
his  mercy.  He  makes  it  the  pupil  of  his  prov- 
idence and  truth,  giving  it  line  upon  line,  pre- 
cept upon  precept,  and  commissioning  unnum- 
bered agencies  in  the  natural  and  moral  world, 
to  "  show  to  it  the  path  of  life." 

Of  all  the  agencies  he  thus  employs,  the 
most  important  is  the  Gospel  of  his  grace ;  the 
most  eflfective  dispensation  of  that  Gospel  is 
the  preached  word, — the  living  ministry  of  his 
Son.  All  the  goodness,  and  all  the  high-born 
hopes  in  this  fallen  world,  are  to  be  attributed 
to  the  revelation  of  God  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  a  cordial  reception  of  him  as  there 
revealed.  If  we  advert  to  the  teaching  of  the 
Apostles,  we  find  that  their  first  object  was  to 
make  men  Christians ;  and  then  their  great 
solicitude  was  that  they  should  become  well- 
informed,  stable,  and  useful  Christians,  who 
should  shine  as  lights  in  the  world.  Not  only 
must  truth  find  its  way  to  the  conscience  and 
heart,  and  men  be  elevated  from  a  state  of 
sin  to  a  state  of  grace ;  but  there  must  be  the 
habitual  presence  and  power  of  godliness,  like 
the  rising  light  which  shineth  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day.     Hallowed  desires  must 


168  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

be  awakened,  renewed,  and  inviir-orated  ;  there 
must  be  a  clear,  and  still  more  clear  perception 
of  divine  things,  and  that  assurance  of  them 
which  is  enriched  by  heavenly  consolations, 
and  which  is  the  great  impulse  to  spiritual  at- 
tainment. There  must  be  an  abiding  awe  of 
God,  chastened  by  fdial  confidence;  by  joy  in 
him  and  from  him;  and  by  that  fellowship  of 
man  with  his  Maker,  by  which  God  dwells  in 
us,  and  we  in  him.  There  must  be  a  sensitive- 
ness to  evil,  which  makes  sin  abhorred  and 
loathsome ;  which  resists  its  snares  under  every 
name  and  form;  which  trembles  for  the  future, 
and  is  humbled  for  the  past ;  which  sinks  in 
sorrow  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  ashamed,  vet 
forgiven,  confounded,  yet  filled  with  praise. 
There  must  be  obedience  to  the  will  of  our 
Father  who  is  in  heaven ;  obedience  that  is 
habitual  and  cheerful,  under  every  difficulty, 
and  at  every  sacrifice.  The  love  of  God  to  his 
people  must  be  more  fully  responded  to  by  the 
love  of  his  people  to  God  :  there  must  be  a 
more  affectionate  and  deeper  toned  piety ; — 
a  piety  that  is  less  paralyzed  by  earth,  and 
that  receives  daily  and  fresh  incitements  from 
heaven ; — a  piety  that  holds  all  things  in  sub- 
ordination to  Christ ; — a  piety  that,  in  the 
pursuit  of  things  temporal  and  eternal,  has 
but  this  one  object,  to  "glorify  God,  and  enjoy 
him  forever,"  and  that  aspires  to  the  higher 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT   OF    PREACHING.  169 

regions  of  the  Christian's  Ufe.  The  object  the 
pulpit  has  in  view  is  no  common  one.  It  looks 
upon  the  world  as  it  is,  alienated  from  God  by 
wicked  works,  and  under  his  wrath  and  curse. 
The  primitive  formations  of  the  mass  on  Avhich 
it  operates,  are  the  sins  and  miseries  of  lost 
men ;  and  forming-  that  chaos  of  unsightly 
things,  where  "  darkness  is  upon  the  face  of 
the  deep."  There  must  be  new,  and  better, 
and  purer  formations  ;  the  Spirit  of  God  must 
move  upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  and  he  who 
sits  upon  the  throne  must  create  all  things 
new. 

This  object  also  is  as  single  as  it  is  important. 
When  the  risen  and  ascended  Saviour  appeared 
to  Saul  of  Tarsus,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
him  a  Christian  man  and  a  Christian  minister, 
he  addressed  him  in  the  following  impressive 
language  :  "  Rise,  and  stand  upon  thy  feet ;  for 
I  have  appeared  unto  thee  for  this  purpose,  to 
make  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness  both  of 
these  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those 
things  in  the  which  I  will  appear  unto  thee ; 
delivering  thee  from  the  people,  and  from  the 
Gentiles,  to  whom  now  /  send  thee,  to  open  their 
eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may 
receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inheritance  among 
them  that  are  sanctified,  hy  faith  that  is  in  me'' 
From  the  hour  this  commission  was  put  into  the 

8 


170  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

liands  and  written  upon  the  heart  of.  Paul,  his 
high  distinction  was  to  be  a  minister  of  the 
everlasting  Go.spel,  and  his  single  aim  to  "  turn 
men  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God."  Every  design  that  is  hos- 
tile to  this,  or  in  any  way  inconsistent  with  it, 
is  at  w^ar  with  the  great  object  of  the  Christian 
ministry.  God  called  them  to  the  sacred  office, 
that  they  might  co-operate  with  his  once  suf- 
fering and  now^  exalted  Son,  and  his  mighty  and 
condescending  Spirit,  in  converting  a  great  mul- 
titude which  no  man  can  number,  intercepting 
their  course  to  tlie  gates  of  death,  overthrowing 
the  empire  of  darkness  and  sin,  and  establish- 
ing, extending,  and  perpetuating  the  kingdom 
of  truth,  and  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy. 
Whatever  subordinate  ends,  therefore,  the 
Christian  pulpit  may  secure  in  this  or  the  com- 
ing world,  its  legitimate,  paramount  aim  is  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  Its 
great  end  is  one,  and  only  one.  If  "  the  chief 
end  of  man  is  to  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  him 
forever,"  the  chief  end  of  those  who  serve  at 
his  altars  is  to  glorify  him  in  that  great  work 
with  which  his  manifested  glory  is  most  inti- 
mately allied.  "  Unto  me,"  says  the  Apostle, 
"  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this 
grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ,  to  the  end  that  now  unto 
principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places. 


THE   GREAT  OBJECT  OF   PREACHING.  171 

might  be  known,  by  the  Church,  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God."     It  is  God  first,  God  midst, 
God  last,  God  everywhere,  God  exalted  in  the 
Gospel  of  his  Son.     It  is  to  bring  forward,  and 
sustain,  and  magnify  the  full  claims  of  the  ador- 
able Godhead  ;  so  that  men  who  do  not  know 
may  know  him ;  men  who  despise  may  have 
honorable  thoughts  of  him;  men  wdio  suspect 
and  slander  him,  may  look  upon  him  with   a 
trustino-  confidence.     It  is  not  to  make  them 
hypocrites,  and  induce  them  to  put  on  the  show 
of  friendship,  and  thus  prepare  themselves  for 
a   greater    damnation ;    it  is  to  prevail   upon 
them  truly  and  honestly  to  give  up  their  con- 
troversy vv  ith  God,  and  make  peace  with  him 
through  the  blood  of  his  Son.     It  is  not  the  fa- 
vor of  the  people  ;  "  we  seek  not  yours''  says 
the  Apostle,  "  but  you''    Nor  is  it  their  Avealth, 
nor  their  honors;  it   is  themselves,  and  their 
salvation.    It  is  the  soul  that  a  faithful  minister  is 
thinking  of, — the  deathless  soul;   it  is  this  that 
he  is  praying  for,  and  preaching  to,  and  tliat  he 
may  present  it  to  his  great  Lord  as  "  his  joy  and 
his  crown."     Such  is  the  high,,  the  graiul  aim 
of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  such  it  will  ap- 
pear to  have  been,  when  such  a  man  as  Paul 
goes  up  with  those  who  were  given  to  him  as 
the  seals  of  his  ministry,  to  bow  themselves 
before  God  and  the  Lamb.     It  is  this  which 
gives  such  grandeur  and  power  to  the  pulpit. 


172  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

Such  it  am'II  appear  to  have  been  "vvhenthe  joys 
of  lieavcn  and  the  torments  of  hell  are  felt 
in  their  everlastini^  wei<];^ht  and  reality,  and 
^vhen  the  magnitude  of  God's  redemption,  and 
the  wondrous  results  that  have  flowed  from  it, 
sliall  he  unfolded. 

All  men  do  not  comprehend  this  command- 
ing motive  and  object  of  ministerial  devote- 
ment :  would  that  it  Avere  comprehended  by 
all  of  us  who  are  Christ's  ministers  !  "  Never 
forget,"  says  the  youthful  McCheyne,  writing 
to  one  of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  "  that 
the  end  of  a  sermon  is  the  salvation  of  the 
people."  We  would  have  our  minds  imbued 
with  this  truth,  and  are  greatly  desirous  that 
the  minds  of  others  should  be  more  deeply 
imbued  than  our  own.  This  is  what  our  pul- 
pits so  imperatively  demand.  In  this  great 
object,  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  preacher 
must  be  concentrated  ;  tlijs  great  end  he  must 
pursue  with  great  singleness  of  purpose,  and 
great  strength  and  ardor  of  affection.  His  ef- 
forts will  rise  as  high  as  his  own  impressions 
of  the  importance  of  his  object,  and  no  higher. 
He  may  expect  to  accomplish  very  little,  unless 
his  own  mind  is  absorbed  in  his  high  calling. 
He  need  not  be  afraid  of  being  too  much  ex- 
cited  in  the  pursuit  of  such  an  end ;  for  it  is 
impossible  that  the  affections  of  an  enlightened 
and  well-balanced  mind  should  be  too  strong 


THE    GREAT  OBJECT   OF   PREACHING.  173 

and  ardent,  where  those  affections  can  be  grat- 
ified only  by  the  salvation  of  men,  and  through 
the  instrumentality  of  God's  truth.  It  is  but 
for  the  salvation  of  men  to  become  his  great  ob- 
ject ;  his  thoughts  are  but  to  dwell  here,  and 
his  desires  centre  so  habitually,  so  tenderly, 
so  solemnly,  on  this  great  object,  as  to  make  it 
the  paramount  passion  ;  and  his  pulpit  would 
read  different  lessons  from  those  it  often  reads. 
Let  this  be  wanting,  and  the  preacher's  heart 
freezes,  his  lips  freeze,  and  his  pulpit  is  but  an 
icy  tablet. 

There  is  a  fixed  and  steady  aim  towards 
this  great  object  discernible  in  some  ministers, 
which  in  others  is  a  very  slight  and  cursory 
one.  It  needs  not  much  discernment  to  dis- 
cover which  are  the  more  powerful  preachers. 
No  two  men  in  this  land  appeared  to  have  the 
great  object  of  preaching  more  directly  or  more 
steadily  before  their  minds,  than  those  departed 
and  beloved  servants  of  God,  the  late  Dr.  Pay- 
son,  of  Portland,  and  the  late  Dr.  Nettleton  of 
Killingworth ;  nor  do  I  know  of  any  who  were 
more  successful  in  winning  souls.  There  was 
a  period  in  the  life  of  Andrew  Fuller,  when  he 
said,  "  I  think  I  never  yet  entered  into  the 
true  idea  of  the  work  of  the  ministry."  Happy, 
timely  thought !  and  the  subsequent  usefulness 
of  this  man  of  God  shows  how  much  the  power 
of  the  pulpit  depends  upon  the  aim  and  end  of 


174  THE   POWER   OF  THE   PULPIT. 

the  preacher.  Many  a  minister  could  tell  a 
similar  experience  ;  they  were  new  days  to 
liim,  and,  in  some  sort,  a  new  conversion,  when 
he  first  "  entered  into  the  true  idea  of  the  w^ork 
of  the  ministry."  What  impulse  is  like  this  1 
What  is  the  pulpit,  without  this  impulse  ? 
How  can  it  gain  the  object  of  its  appointment, 
if  it  does  not  aim  at  attaining  it  ?  Is  it  any 
marvel  that  it  should  he  powerless,  when  it 
seeks  not  to  be  powerful  ?  We  ask  for  the  pul- 
pit that  engrossing  attention,  and  thought,  and 
zeal,  which  the  great  object  of  it  demands; 
well  assured  that  it  has  weight  and  influence 
enough  to  take  full  possession  of  the  soul,  to  fill 
it,  to  exhaust  it ;  and  when  it  has  exhausted  it  to 
fill  it  again;  to  stimulate  what  it  has  exhausted, 
and  invigorate  and  refresh  what  it  has  made 
weak  and  weary.  There  is  surely  no  ^\  ant  of 
motives  to  such  a  spirit,  nor  any  lack  of  aliment 
to  it  in  the  truth  of  God.  For  with  all  the  rich- 
ness and  variety  of  that  exhaustless  volume, 
there  is  not  a  principle  nor  a  fact  it  reveals  but 
has  a  bearing  upon  the  object  which  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  has  in  view,  and  which,  if  their 
own  hearts  are  set  upon  that  object,  may  not 
be  so  enforced  as  to  aim  at  this  great  end. 

We  hear  not  a  little  about  elevating  the  stand- 
ard of  preaching,  and  rendering  it  more  in  keep- 
ing with  "  the  spirit  of  the  age."  Is  there  not 
some    delusion  in  this   matter ;   and  in  these 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT   OF   PREACHING.  175 

efforts  to  elevate  the  pulpit,  may  we  not  be 
insensibly  depressing  it  below  the  high  and 
revealed  standard  ?  The  age  is  indeed  distin- 
guislied  for  great  advances  in  science  and  the 
arts,  great  enterprise,  expansive  benevolence, 
and  high  independence  of  thought,  and  free- 
dom of  inquiry.  This  advance  in  science  and 
the  arts  has  added  greatly  to  the  richness  of 
language ;  it  furnishes  matter  for  new  and 
more  varied  illustrations  of  religious  truth ; 
while  it  erects  new"  fortresses  of  defence 
against  the  attacks  of  inlidelity,  and  puts  into 
the  hands  of  God's  servants  new  weapons  of 
aggression  and  assault.  The  enterprise  of  the 
age  does,  indeed,  call  for  an  enterprising  min- 
istry ;  and  its  public  spirit  and  independence 
of  thought  give  the  pulpit  great  advantages 
for  urging  the  claims  of  God's  truth.  It  is  in- 
cumbent on  the  ministry  to  stand  abreast  with 
these  advances,  and  to  make  the  most  of  them 
for  the  honor  of  God  and  the  souls  of  men. 

Yet  is  it  a  mistaken  view,  that  these  advan- 
ces have  made  advances  upon  the  Gospel,  or 
disclosed  any  new  method  of  enforcing  its 
great  truths,  or  discovered  any  new  way  to 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  Gospel  is  in  ad- 
vance of  them  all.  Modern  science  and  im- 
provements, with  all  their  boasting,  will  not 
make  men  better  preachers  than  Christ  and 
the    Apostles.      The    essential    and    peculiar 


176  THE    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

power  of  tlic  pulpit,  as  uc  liave  already  shown, 
consists  "  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wis- 
dom teacheth,  but  Avhich  the  Holy  Ghost  teach- 
eth."  The  "  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than 
men."  Give  me  the  power  of  illustrating  and 
enforcing  God's  truth,  and  I  care  not  who  has 
the  treasures  of  human  learning.  Human  learn- 
ing is  valuable  only  to  this  end  ;  and  that  it 
does  not  always  attain  this  end,  is  quite  obvi- 
ous from  the  fact,  that  the  most  learned  men 
are  not  the  best  preachers,  nor  the  most  sought 
after  by  the  popular  mind.  When  John  Bun- 
yan  preached  in  London,  he  attracted  greater 
audiences  than  the  most  learned  divines  of  the 
land,  because  he  preached  with  greater  power. 
The  celebrated  Dr.  Owen  was  often  among  his 
hearers  ;  and  when  Charles  H.  expressed  his 
astonishment  that  a  man  of  the  Doctor's  learn- 
ing could  hear  "  the  tinker  preach,"  Owen  is 
said  to  have  replied,  "  Had  I  the  tinker's  abil- 
ities, please  your  majesty,  I  would  most  gladly 
relinquish  my  learning."  The  fact  is,  there 
are  wo  peculiar  qualifications  for  the  pulpit  re- 
quired by  the  age  in  which  we  live,  above 
those  required  by  former  ages.  We  have  no 
better  preachers  than  Bunyan,  and  Baxter, 
and  Owen.  Baxter's  "  Saints'  Rest,"  and  his 
"  Call  to  the  Unconverted,"  are  not  equalled 
by  modern  pulpits.  Bunyan's  "  Heavenly 
Footman,"  his  "  Come  and  Welcome  to  Jesus 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT   OF    PREACHING.  177 

Christ,"  liis  "  Barren  Fig  Tree,"  and  his 
"  Grace  Abounding  to  the  Chief  of  Sinners," 
would  now  perhaps  be  deemed  far  behind  the 
spirit  of  the  age.  And  so  would  Doddridge's 
"  Rise  and  Progress,"  and  AUeyn's  "  Alarm," 
and  Flavel's  "  Fountain  of  Life,"  and  Owen 
on  the  "  Glory  of  Christ."  Men  have  out- 
lived these  old-fashioned  preachers.  They 
have  outrun  the  Bible  ;  and  if  ever  they  wake 
up  to  the  great  and  single  object  the  pulpit 
has  in  view,  it  will  be  by  a  "  voice  behind 
them."  The  spirit  of  the  age  is  not  the  spirit 
of  Paul ;  and  were  this  greatest  of  human 
teachers  to  return  to  our  world,  I  fear  he 
would  be  accused  as  a  tardy  imitator  of  the 
age  in  which  we  live ;  and  that  the  laurels  he 
earned  in  Arabia,  at  Jerusalem,  at  Antioch,  at 
Thessalonica,  at  Athens,  at  Corinth,  at  Ephe- 
sus,  and  at  Rome,  would  no  longer  be  pre- 
served fresh  and  green  upon  his  brow.  I  re- 
peat the  thought,  there  is  some  illusion  here, 
and  some  subtle  snare  of  the  great  Deceiver. 
The  Gospel  preached  by  Paul  is  not  less  pow- 
erful now  than  it  was  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago  ;  it  is  still  adapted  to  all  ages, — all  climes, 
— all  states  of  society, — every  degree  of  intel- 
lectual advancement,  and  all  men.  Nor  may 
we  doubt,  that  if  preached  now  just  as  he 
preached  it,  it  would  furnish  exemplifications 
of  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  "  not  a  whit  be- 

8* 


178  THE   POWER   OP   THE    PULPIT. 

liiiid,"  the  spirit  of  the  age,  or  the  cliicf  of  its 
apostles. 

It  is  a  melanclioly  fact  tliat,  so  far  as  it  re- 
gards the  great  object  of  preacliing,  the  Ameri- 
can pulpit  is  not  on  the  advance.  Not  a  few 
preachers  there  are  whom  it  would  seem  cap- 
tious to  complain  of,  but  who  at  the  same  time 
do  not  satisfy  an  intelligent  and  spiritual  au- 
ditory. There  is  something  wanting  in  their 
discourses;  they  are  not  full  of  light  and 
power;  the  unction  of  the  Priesthood  is  not 
there.  They  are  not  so  absorbed  in  the  great 
object  of  preaching,  that  their  hearers  perceive 
the  object  they  are  aiming  at ;  nor  so  intent 
upon  it,  that  they  themselves  are  cheerful  or 
depressed,  joyful  or  sad,  as  the  pleasure  of  the 
Lord  prospers,  or  does  not  prosper,  in  their 
hands. 

These  are  "  hard  sayings,"  and  might  come 
better  from  one  who  is  better  authorized  to 
*'  cast  the  first  stone."  Nor  is  it  without  a 
painful  struggle  between  a  sense  of  shame  and 
a  sense  of  duty,  that  the  author  allows  himself 
to  utter  them.  His  ow^n  conscience  smites 
liim;  and  he  feels  the  glow  of  self-reproach 
coming  up  in  his  face  when  he  ventures  to  say, 
that  the  great  deficiency  in  the  Church  of  the 
present  age  is  the  want  of  a  spiritual  and  ur- 
gent ministry.  Older  ministers  are  deeply 
conscious   of   this    deficiency   in   themselves; 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT   OF   PREACHING.  179 

they  feel  it  when  they  look  toward  their  be- 
loved and  younger  brethren.  Other  profes- 
sions are  on  the  advance,  but  the  pulpit  is 
retrograde.  There  are  more  learned  thinofs 
and  more  beautiful  things  uttered  from  it  than 
were  once  uttered ;  but  it  is  fast  losing  its 
energy.  It  has  more  touches  of  the  German 
artists,  but  less  of  plain  dealing  with  the  con- 
science, less  of  tenderness  and  love.  It  has 
more  of  transcendentalism,  but  less  of  Chris- 
tianity. Where  is  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah  ? 
Where  is  the  mantle  of  Tennent  and  Davies, 
Edwards  and  Bellamy,  Brainerd  and  Payson  ? 

Yet  would  we  not  be  misunderstood.  It  is 
not  absolutely  a  degenerate  ministry  that  we 
speak  of;  it  is  not  an  irreligious  and  corrupt 
ministry,  but  an  inefficient  ministry.  The 
strength  of  the  pulpit  has  been  insensibly  and 
gradually  decaying  ;  and  not  the  less  so  be- 
cause the  youthful  ministry  themselves  are 
slow  to  perceive  it.  In  some  respects,  it  has 
made  great  and  rapid  advances  ;  while  in  the 
important  article  of  effective  preaching,  it  has 
become  so  manifestly  retrograde,  that  I  have 
heard  the  thought  expressed,  with  great  ten- 
derness, by  cultivated  intelligence  and  matured 
piety,  "  We  know  not  where  the  Church  can 
look  for  able  ministers  !" 

This  state  of  things  demands  sober  reflec- 
tion.    Iniquity  abounds,  the  love  of  many  is 


180  THE  POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT. 

■\vaxing  cold,  and  tlic  enemy  is  coming  in  lilce 
a  Hood.  Never,  since  the  days  of  Luther,  was 
tliere  a  louder  call  for  an  effective  ministry. 
Ministers  may  he  pious,  ahle,  and  evangelical  in 
their  views;  yet  not  be  good  preachers.  They 
may  possess  talent,  competent  intellectual  fur- 
niture, and  large  measures  of  theological  knowl- 
edge; yet  not  be  able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament.  They  may  be  familiar  with  the- 
ology as  a  science,  yet  not  know  how  to  preach 
it.  And  the  reason  is,  their  hearts  are  not  ar- 
dently set  on  the  great  object  of  the  Christian 
ministry;  they  are  drawn  from  it  to  other 
things,  and  contemplate  the  one  thing  needful 
with  diminished  interest.  They  do  not  glide 
down  with  the  current  of  the  world,  and  allow 
themselves  to  become  ensnared  by  pursuits 
that  are  purely  secular;  but  they  fall  in  with 
the  infectious  spirit  of  the  times,  and  are  slow 
to  elevate  their  own  minds  and  discourses  to 
the  true  standard  and  the  great  object  of 
preaching. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  keep  the  great  object 
of  the  pulpit  distinctly  and  steadily  before  the 
mind;  to  do  so  requires  great  self-denial,  spirit- 
uality, and  imparted  grace,  and  more  especially 
during  prolonged  seasons  of  declension  in  the 
Church,  and  insensibility  in  the  world.  The 
mind  of  an  active,  enterprising  minister  cannot 
be  idle.     If  not  employed  in  the  most  appro- 


THE   GREAT   OBJECT   OF   PREACHING.  181 

priate  duties  of  his  vocation,  it  seeks  employ- 
ment in  those  pursuits  wliich,  while  they  have 
a  distant,  have  no  direct  and  immediate  relation 
to  his  great  object.  May  not  many  of  us  "  lay 
our  hand  upon  our  own  mouth  ?"  If  I  were 
not  such  a  traitor  to  my  Divine  Lord,  right  sure 
am  I  that  I  should  have  the  great  and  com- 
manding object  more  constantly  and  more  de- 
lightfully present  to  my  thoughts,  for  which 
"  he  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the 
ministry,"  Oh,  it  would  be  delightful  to  learn 
that  such  men  as  Baxter,  and  Bunyan,  and  Ed- 
w^ards,  were  about  to  come  down  upon  our 
churches  with  a  message  that  would  disturb 
and  stir  up  us  placid,  self-complacent,  dreamy 
preachers  ! 

Would  that  better  days  might  dawn  upon 
the  Church  and  the  pulpit,  and  that  as  we  sink 
to  the  silence  of  the  tomb,  better  and  abler 
men,  men  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  might  occupy 
the  places  which  will  so  soon  know  us  no  more  ! 


CHAPTER    XI. 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE, 


While  just  views  of  tlie  great  object  of 
preaching  go  far  towards  making  a  useful  miu- 
ister  of  the  Gospel,  these  alone  do  not  give  to 
the  pulpit  its  true  and  proper  influence.  These 
views  must  be  carried  out  into  practice,  and 
express  themselves  in  a  course  of  diligent  de- 
votement  to  the  labors  of  the  ministerial  ofTicc. 
The  single  thought,  therefore,  on  which  we 
propose  to  submit  several  observations  in  the 
present  chapter,  relates  to  the  necessity  of  un- 
wearied diligence  in  the  w^ork  of  the  Christian 
ministry. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  in  giving  his  paternal 
counsels  to  a  youthful  preacher,  has  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  passage  :  "  Neglect  not  the  gift 
that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee  by 
prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery.  Meditate  upon  these  things; 
give  thyself  wholly  to  them,  that  thy  profiting 
may  appear  unto  all."  No  imparted  gifts  could 
avail   for   young   Timothy,  unless  he  himself 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  183 

were  wholly  devoted  to  bis  work.  Paul  him- 
self was  a  noble  exemplification  of  the  dili- 
gence be  recommends ;  accomplishing  in  one 
short  life  more,  probably,  than  was  accom- 
plished by  any  other  man.  Prepared  for  his 
work  by  an  early  attention  to  the  liberal  arts 
and  sciences  in  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  and  ac- 
customed to  manual  labor  in  the  trade  of  tent- 
making,  he  possessed  a  w^ell-disciplined  mind, 
and  a  body  that  was  inured  to  hardship.  From 
Tarsus  he  was  sent  to  Jerusalem,  where,  under 
the  tuition  of  that  great  master  of  the  law, 
Gamaliel,  he  made  rapid  proficiency,  "  and 
profited  above  many  of  his  equals."  But  God, 
who  had  destined  him  for  another  profession, 
and  "  separated  him  from  his  mother's  womb" 
that  he  might  be  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  ar- 
rested him  in  his  course,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
conversion,  revealed  to  him  that  he  was  the 
selected  individual  who  should  preach  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  to  the  Gentile 
world.  From  that  hour  he  addressed  himself 
to  this  great  work  with  a  steadfastness  of  pur- 
pose, and  a  diligence  that  is  without  any  re- 
corded example ;  asking  only  the  question, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  V^  and 
never  stopping  to  consult  his  own  ease,  or  in 
any  way  "  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood." 
The  first  three  years  of  his  ministry  he  em- 
ployed in  different  parts  of  Arabia ;  from  Ara- 


18i  THE   POWER  or   THE   PULPIT. 

biji,  lie  rediriKMl  (o  Damascus,  Avlicre,  in  dcfi- 
ancc  of  the  incensed  and  exasperated  rulers, 
he  preaclied  ()])eidy  in  the  synaij^ogue.  Thence 
lie  went  to  Jerusalem,  where,  thougli  lie  re- 
mained but  lifteen  days,  he  left  the  marks  of 
his  mighty  mind,  if  not  in  the  conversion,  in 
the  conviction  and  confusion  of  his  enemies. 
Thence  he  set  sail  for  Tarsus,  his  native  city; 
thence,  in  company  with  Barnabas,  he  went  to 
Antioch  ;  thence  back  to  Jerusalem ;  thence 
to  Seleucia,  and  Cyprus,  preaching  in  all  its 
principal  cities.  Thence  he  Avent  to  Pam- 
phylia,  Pisidia,  and  Iconium,  God  everywhere 
giving  testimony  to  the  word  of  his  grace  ;  and 
thence  back  again  to  Antioch,  confirming  and 
strengthening  the  churches,  and  announcing 
how  great  a  door  had  been  opened  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Gentile  world.  We  need  not 
follow  him  in  his  indefatigable  course  ;  it  was 
one  of  unwearied  labor  and  self-denial,  at  Phi- 
lippi,  at  Athens,  at  Corinth,  at  Thessalonica, 
at  Ephesus,  at  Illyrium,  at  Troas,  at  Myletus, 
at  Ca3sarea,  and  at  Rome.  "  Of  the  Jews," 
says  he,  "  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes, 
save  one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods ; 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck  ;  a  day  and  a  night 
liave  I  been  in  the  deep.  In  journeyings  often, 
in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  per- 
ils by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the 
heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the 


MINISTERIAL  DILIGENCE.  185 

wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among 
false  brethren.  In  weariness,  and  painfulness, 
in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in 
fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Be- 
side those  things  that  are  without,  that  which 
Cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the 
churches."  Never  was  a  mind  more  divinely 
attempered  to  its  work  than  his ;  and  never 
did  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  so  magnify  his 
office,  by  his  "  mighty  diligence  and  industry," 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  by  day  and  by 
night,  by  sea  and  by  land ;  "  running,"  as  one 
of  the  Christian  fathers  remarks,  "  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  like  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  sooner 
wanting  ground  to  tread  upon  than  a  desire  to 
propagate  the  faith  of  Christ."  What  he  could 
not  accomplish  by  his  voice,  he  supplied  by 
the  diligent  use  of  his  pen,  leaving  upon  record 
fourteen  Epistles  to  the  churches,  and  to  us, 
and  all  subsequent  ages,  a  view  of  the  doc- 
trines and  duties  of  the  Gospel,  which,  for 
simplicity,  weight,  urgency,  and  true,  earnest 
eloquence,  are  not  surpassed  in  the  sacred 
writings.  It  is  not  amiss  for  us  to  have  such 
an  example  of  ministerial  diligence  before  our 
eyes ;  we  may  the  better  see  how  much  can 
be  accomplished  by  the  patient  and  self-deny- 
ing efforts  of  one  devoted  man  of  God. 

Effective  diligence  has  respect  to  the  whole 
course  of  ministerial  life,  and  comprehends  the 


18G  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

entire  devotemcnt  of  it  to  this  great  work.  The 
time  of  Ji  minister  of  tiie  Gospel  is  to  him,  and 
to  I  lie  work  in  which  he  is  engaged,  "  more  pre- 
cious than  rubies."  If  he  is  a  diligent  man,  there 
is  nothing  he  economizes  with  greater  care, — 
gathering  up  the  fragments  of  it,  that  nothing 
be  lost.  There  is  nothing  for  which  he  considers 
himself  more  solemnly  accountable  ;  nothing 
he  employs  either  so  cheerfully,  or  so  intensely 
for  the  cause  of  his  Divine  Lord.  Like  every 
other  man,  he  requires  seasons  of  relaxation 
and  repose  ;  and  while  he  ought  to  possess  true 
independence  of  character,  to  decide  for  him- 
self when  and  what  that  repose  shall  be,  it  be- 
comes him  to  do  so  with  an  honest  conscience, 
and  even  with  lively  sensitiveness  that  it  is  the 
tendency  of  the  best  of  men,  where  the  call 
for  labor  and  the  opportunity  for  indulgence 
are  distinctly  before  him,  to  lean  to  the  side  of 
indulgence.  He  should  have  independence  of 
character  enough,  also,  in  his  arrangements  for 
labor,  to  secure  the  time  devoted  to  it,  without 
interruption.  He  must  do  this,  if  he  is  an  ef- 
fective laborer;  and  though  it  may  cost  him 
frowns  and  popular  favor,  his  habits  will  event- 
ually become  known  and  respected.  It  is  of 
great  importance  to  a  Christian  minister  who 
insists  upon  the  uninterrupted  opportunity  for 
labor,  to  employ  that  opportunity  intensely. 
This  is  altogether  a  matter  of  habit ;  and  the 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE,  187 

habit  is  one  which  is  easily  acquired.  If  there 
are  those  who  are  able  to  accomplish  more  in 
eight  hours  than  others  accomplish  in  twelve, 
it  is  from  the  habit  of  fixed  and  concentrated 
labor.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  of  all  men  in 
the  world,  have  no  time  to  throw  away.  They 
may  trifle  with  any  thing,  and  be  prodigal  of 
any  thing,  rather  than  time.  Wisdom  in  the 
arrangement  of  their  time,  and  punctuality  and 
activity  in  pursuing  this  arrangement,  enter 
most  essentially  into  the  very  elements  of  their 
usefulness.  "  Seize  time  by  the  forelock,"  was 
the  counsel  given  by  a  venerable  father  in  the 
ministry  to  the  writer  while  he  was  yet  young. 
The  best  days  of  the  week,  and  the  best  hours 
of  the  day  are  all  demanded  for  our  work.  We 
rebuke  our  hearers  who  act  upon  the  presump- 
tion that  there  is  time  enough  yet;  perhaps 
we  should  rebuke  ourselves.  How  often  is  the 
time  too  far  gone  w  hich  ought  to  have  been  re- 
deemed ;  how  often  do  we  stand  discouraged 
on  the  threshold  of  duty,  when  we  might  have 
gone  to  the  duty  cheerfully,  had  we  known  the 
value  of  time.  Men  of  the  world  husband 
their  time  ;  Christian  men,  in  their  secular  pur- 
suits, are  wise  in  the  employment  of  their  time. 
We  do  not  read  that  the  Saviour  was  ever 
found  standing  or  sitting  idle.  "  I  must  work 
the  work  of  him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day," 
says  he  ;  "  the  night  cometh  in  which  no  man 


188  THE  POWER  OP  THE   PULPIT. 

can  work."  He  was  the  most  indefatigable  of 
men,  from  tlie  lionr  he  entered  on  his  public 
ministry,  to  that  in  wliich  he  breathed  out  his 
life  on  the  cross.  God's  accepted  time  with 
the  sinner  is  now ;  when,  if  not  now,  is  it  an 
accepted  time  for  his  ministers  to  be  about 
their  Father's  business  ?  "Go  on,  dear  broth- 
er," says  McCheyne,  writing  to  Burns,  then  at 
Dundee, — "go  on,  dear  brother;  but  an  inch 
of  time  remains,  and  then  eternal  ages  roll  on 
forever, — but  an  inch  of  time  on  which  we  can 
stand,  and  preach  the  way  of  salvation  to  a  per- 
ishing world." 

This  general  remark  in  regard  to  the  diligent 
employment  of  a  minister's  time,  deserves,  as 
we  judge,  special  consideration  in  regard  to  one 
particular  department  of  his  official  labors.  Of 
all  ^  the  labors  of  a  minister,  the  most  impor- 
tant is  lyreparation  for  the  pulpit.  The  pulpit  is 
his  great  sphere  of  action  ;  the  work  of  the  pul- 
pit is  the  great  work  to  which  God  has  ap- 
pointed liim ;  it  i.s  the  work  in  which  most  is 
effected  for  the  great  object  of  that  appoint- 
ment. What  he  is  as  a  man,  a  Christian,  and 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  what  he  accom- 
plishes for  the  souls  of  his  fellow-men,  depends 
in  no  small  degree  upon  the  careful  preparation 
of  his  public  discourses.  Those  there  are  who 
are  not  indolent,  yet  who  do  not  take  sufficient 
time  to  prepare  for  the  pulpit.     This,  we  are 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE.  189 

fully  persuaded,  is  mistaken  policy;  nay,  it  is 
worse.  A  few  men  there  are  of  extraordinary 
powers,  and  great  industry,  who  may  be  said 
to  be  always  preparing  for  the  pulpit,  and  who 
have  little  else  to  do  than  hastily  gather  up  and 
arrange  a  few  selected  thoughts,  in  order  to 
be  useful  and  profitable  preachers.  But  they 
are  rare  men,  and  would  increase  their  useful- 
ness tenfold,  if  their  habitual  preparations  were 
more  definite  and  elaborate  than  they  are. 
We  cannot  urge  too  strenuously  the  importance 
of  diligent  preparations  for  the  services  of  the 
pulpit.  For  what  services  should  a  minister  be 
prepared,  if  not  for  those  where  hundreds,  it 
may  be  thousands,  are  waiting  with  solemn  ex- 
pectation to  hear  the  messages  of  Divine  love 
from  his  lips  ?  We  are  acquainted  with  some 
ministers  who  make  their  preparations  for  the 
pulpit  altogether  a  secondary  concern  ;  they  do 
so  habitually.  We  dare  not  trust  ourselves  in 
animadverting  upon  a  habit  that  is  so  censura- 
ble, so  unministerial.  To  crowd  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  Sabbath  into  the  last  day  of  the 
week  may  sometimes  be  inevitable  ;  and  there 
are  those  who  can  sustain  this  pressure.  Men 
in  the  habit  of  careful  preparation  are  the  very 
men  to  meet  this  occasional  exigency.  Where 
the  vessel  is  full,  it  will  bear  a  sudden  demand 
upon  it;  where  the  fruit  is  ripe  on  the  bough, 
it   does   not  suffer  if  it  be  hastily  gathered. 


190  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

Ministers,  if  they  are  wise,  will  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  often  driven  to  this  extremity. 
"  Beaten  oil,  beaten  oil,  for  the  lamps  of  the 
sanctuary." 

It  is  related  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Dick,  the 
fellow-student  of  Robert  Hall,  and  Sir  James 
Mcintosh,  and  the  author  of  one  of  the  best 
systems  of  theology,  that  his  discourses  for  the 
Sabbath  were  begun  on  the  evening  of  the 
Sabbath  preceding  that  on  which  they  were 
delivered.  The  writer  is  acquainted  with  a 
living  minister  whom  he  once  heard  remark, 
that  he  had  rarely  closed  his  eyes  to  rest,  on  a 
Lord's  day  evening,  for  almost  forty  years, 
without  anxiously  turnin^f  his  thouc^hts  to  the 
inquiry, —  What  shall  be  the  subject  of  my  dis- 
course for  the  next  Sabbath  ?  Nor  was  he  sat- 
isfied until  he  had  selected  it ;  and  when  he 
had  selected  it,  it  became  the  burden  of  his 
thoughts,  his  studies,  his  prayers,  and  often,  of 
his  conversation  for  .the  remainder  of  the  week. 
Did  we  all  do  this,  should  we  not  be  better 
preachers  1  "  How  long,"  said  a  flippant  li- 
centiate, to  the  late  Dr.  Strong,  of  Hartford, 
"  does  it  take  you,  sir,  to  write  a  sermon  ?" 
"  That  depends,"  replied  the  veteran  laborer, 
"  on  the  nature  and  importance  of  my  subject; 
sometimes  two,  sometimes  four,  sometimes  six 
days ;  and  sometimes  almost  as  many  weeks." 
"  Is   it   possible  ?"    exclaimed   the   astonished 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  191 

young  man.  "  Why,  sir,  I  can  write  a  sermon 
at  any  time  in  half  a  day  /"  "  Yes,"  replied  the 
Doctor,  "  and  make  nothing  of  it  /"  With  few 
exceptions,  this  is  the  whole  history  of  hasty 
preparations  for  the  pulpit.  To  make  nothing 
of  the  toil,  is  to  make  nothing  of  the  sermon. 
As  the  Frenchman  said  of  the  academy,  "  We 
had  nothing  to  do,  and  Ave  did  it." 

There  are  no  doubt  seasons  when  a  minister 
is  justified  in  neglecting  elaborate  preparations 
for  the  pulpit,  for  pastoral  visitation,  and  the 
more  public  services  of  the  Church  of  God  in 
the  world.  Seasons  of  sickness,  and  especially 
of  pervading  public  calamity,  and  seasons  of 
the  special  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
upon  the  people  of  his  charge,  demand  a  de- 
gree of  pastoral  visitation  that  is  incompatible 
with  severe  study.  For  such  seasons  a  labo- 
rious student  is  prepared ;  he  is  at  home  in  the 
lecture-room, — at  the  prayer-meeting,  and  in 
the  domestic  circle.  Some  of  his  most  profit- 
able services  then,  are  those  oif-liand  and  olf- 
heart  efforts  which  cost  him  little  labor  ;  he  is 
fitted  for  them  by  a  course  of  previous  discipline, 
by  much  prayer,  and  by  grace  to  help  in  the  time 
of  need.  It  is  no  presumption  in  such  a  man, 
at  such  seasons,  to  look  to  God,  and  rely  on 
God  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  "  As  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be."  Yet,  even  in 
such  seasons,  he  will  find  it  of  great  advantage. 


192  THE    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

not  allofjotlior   lo   iioijlect   careful   prr])aration 
lor  (lie  piilj)it.     Tlir   discourses  prepared  dur- 
ing seasons  of  great  public  calamity,  and  spe- 
cial effusions  of  God's  Spirit,  are  usually  his  best 
and    most   useful    discourses ;    they   are    most 
worthy  of  being  preserved  and  repeated ;  there 
is  an   earnestness  and  unction  about  them  in 
vain  sought  in  ordinary,  and  even  more  elab- 
orate preparations.     One  of  the  most  thrilling 
series  of  discourses  found  in  our  language,  is  a 
series  published  by  the  ministers  of  London, 
during  the  great  plague,  in  the  year  16(36.   The 
most  effective  discourses  ever  written  by  Pres- 
ident Edwards,  and  the  late  Dr.  GrilHn,  bear 
internal   evidence    that    they    were    carefully 
prepared  during  those  memorable  revivals  of 
religion  in  Northampton,  New   Hartford,  and 
Newark,    with   the    narative    of  which    every 
minister  is  familiar.     Never  did  the  late  ven- 
erable Dr.  Dwight  preach  with  so  much  spir- 
ituality and  pathos,  as  during  those  seasons  of 
refreshing  enjoyed  at  Yale  College,  from  the 
year  1800,  to  1805.     Yet,  with  the  exception 
of  his   Saturday   evening  lectures  to   the   stu- 
dents, his  discourses  were  carefully  prepared 
and  written.     There  were   two  very  precious 
seasons  of  the    general    outpouring   of  God's 
Spirit,  under  the  ministrations  of  the  late  Dr. 
Emmons,  at  Franklin;   yet,  with  the  exception 
of  his  "  Improvement,"  did  this  indefatigable 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE.  193 

student  and  pungent  preacher  never  address 
even  an  assemblage  of  his  awakened  and  anx- 
ious people,  not  in  the  district  school-house, 
or  a  private  dwelling,  without  his  written  dis- 
course. 

No  minister  can  be  diligent  without  a  solemn 
purpose  to  be  so.  Severe  toil  is  not  naturally 
a  pleasure  ;  labor  was  the  inflicted  curse.  Ac- 
tive as  men  are,  and  busy  as  they  consent  to 
be  about  trifles,  calm,  serious,  useful  labor  is 
not  naturally  their  pleasure.  Nor  will  the 
habit  ever  be  imbibed  without  strong  resolu- 
tion. Faint  resolutions  will  not  accomplish 
the  object ;  before  one  short  month  is  gone, 
they  are  gone  and  forgotten.  There  is  a  back- 
wardness, a  reluctance  to  severe  and  long-con- 
tinued toil,  which  require  great  hardihood  of 
purpose  to  overcome.  They  cannot  be  over- 
come without  a  struggle  ;  and  the  man  who 
conquers  them  will  find  the  conflict  such  as  to 
demand  great  watchfulness,  and  many  prayers. 
His  great  object  must  be  to  "  do  the  work  of  an 
Evangelist."  He  must  lay  his  account  with 
toil,  undiscouraged  by  difficulty,  unwearied  by 
years ;  his  master  purpose  must  be,  that  "  Christ 
should  be  magnified  in  his  body,  whether  it  be 
by  life,  or  by  death." 

Are  there  no  incentives  to  such  a  career  1 
May  we  not,  by  weighty  motives,  and  high  en- 
couragements, hold  up  to  our  own  view,  as  well 

9 


194  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

as  to  the  view  of  others,  the  practicability,  the 
importance,  the  usefidness,  the  honor  of  such 
a  course  ;  and  the  sinfuhiess,  the  depression, 
the  dishonor  of  putting  our  hand  to  the  plough 
and  looking  hack  ? 

Contemplate,  then,  the  great  law  of  mail's  be- 
ing in  the  present  world.  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy 
brow  shalt  thou  eat  thy  bread,  until  thou  re- 
turn to  the  ground."  No  man  can  evade  the 
operation  of  this  salutary  law,  without  being 
the  sufferer.  Last  of  all  may  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  quarrel  with  this  arrangement  of  Di- 
vine Providence.  Yet  is  it  no  uncommon  thing 
to  hear  the  complaint  from  a  certain  class  of 
ministers,  of  the  severity  of  their  toil.  We 
may  not  affirm  that  this  is  always  proof  that 
they  are  idlers  in  God's  vineyard  ;  yet  is  it  an 
indication  that  they  do  not  feel  a  deep  interest 
in  their  work.  Ministers  are  not  the  only  men 
who  have  selected  a  laborious  calling.  Men 
of  other  professions  are  men  of  toil ;  not  a  few 
of  them  are  men  of  indefatigable  toil,  from  the 
dawning  of  vigorous  manhood,  to  a  ripe  old 
age.  They  expect  to  gain  their  ends  by  un- 
wearied effort ;  and  why  should  not  the  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  ?  how  can  they  hope  to 
gain  them  by  any  other  means  ?  There  is  no 
violation  of  the  law  of  human  dependence  in 
such  expectations.  It  is  alike  the  duty  and 
privilege  of  a  minister  "  to   trust  like  a  child, 


MINISTERIAL  DILIGENCE.  195 

and  work  like  a  man."  There  is  no  one  fea- 
ture of  the  Divine  government,  no  one  property 
of  the  physical,  or  intellectual  constitution  of 
man,  no  one  principle  of  his  social  organiza- 
tion, no  one  characteristic  in  the  economy  of 
his  salvation,  that  proposes  a  bounty  for  indo- 
lence. Even  in  the  sovereign  operations  of 
God's  distinguishing  grace,  where  "  it  is  not  of 
him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but 
of  God  that  showeth  mercy,"  men  are  enjoined 
to  "  work  out  their  own  salvation,"  because  it  is 
God  who  "  worketh  in  them  to  will  and  to  do." 
Their  dependence  is  their  great  encourage- 
ment. They  work  when  God  works ;  and  God 
works  when  they  work.  It  is  true,  that  "  it 
is  God  who  giveth  the  increase  ;"  and  this  is 
the  reason  why  ministers  should  "  plant  and 
water."  The  field  must  be  cultivated,  else 
will  it  rem.ain  barren,  and  God  will  give  no  in- 
crease. On  the  part  of  the  laborers,  every 
thing  must  give  way  to  the  diligent  planting 
and  watering.  This  is  a  labor  which  may  not 
be  neglected,  nor  carelessly  performed,  nor 
performed  for  a  season,  and  then  abandoned. 
It  is  not  more  true,  that  "  he  that  tilleth  his 
land  shall  have  plenty  of  bread,"  than  that  a 
laborious  minister  is  a  fellow-worker  with  God, 
while  a  negligent  minister  counteracts  every 
law  of  nature,  morals,  and  grace,  and  wages 
habitual  war  witli  his  Maker. 


196  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

What  is  fhe  loork  itself  \\\  ^vhicli  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  is  employed  ?  If  he  is  what  he 
professes  to  be,  he  is  a  pious  man,  and  is  deeply 
sensible  of  the  wonderful  grace  of  God,  not 
only  in  making  him  the  subject  of  his  grace,  and 
an  heir  of  his  kingdom,  but  in  "  counting  him 
faithful,  putting  him  into  the  ministry."  If  we 
have  given  any  just  view  of  the  power  of  the 
pul})it,  there  is  no  employment  so  important  to 
the  present  and  future  well-being  of  men,  and 
therefore,  none  so  desirable.  Such  goodness 
and  mercy  as  God  has  expressed  towards  his 
ministers  in  calling  them  to  his  service,  deserve 
more  than  ordinary  returns  of  obedience  and 
love  ;  they  impose  obligations  of  entire  and  ex- 
clusive devotement  to  the  service,  to  which, 
in  such  amazing  condescension,  he  has  called 
them.  In  accepting  such  a  service,  they  have 
.solemnly  pledged  to  it  before  God,  angels,  and 
men,  all  that  they  are,  and  have,  and  can  per- 
form. God  has  made  provision  for  their  tem- 
poral wants,  that  their  time  and  thoughts,  un- 
distracted  by  other  avocations,  may  be  devoted 
to  feeding  his  people  with  knowledge  and  un- 
derstanding ;  and  that  they  themselves,  to  the 
full  extent  of  their  opportunity  and  abilities, 
may  be  active  and  devoted  ministers.  It  is  a 
cold  view  of  the  work  of  the  ministry  to  urge 
this  devotement  as  a  maker  of  mere  obligation 
and  duty.     Necessity  is  laid  upon  every  minis- 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE.  197 

ter  to  be  diligent  in  such  vocation ;  necessity 
of  every  kind  ;  the  necessity  of  love  as  well  as 
of  law,  of  affection  as  Avell  as  of  concience,  of 
gi'atitude  as  well  as  covenant  bonds,  all  con- 
straining him  to  diligence  and  zeal.  He  has  a 
high  and  holy  commission  to  execute,  and  how 
can  he  execute  it  negligently  ?  The  souls  of 
men  are  committed  to  his  trust ;  their  apathy 
must  be  disturbed,  their  crimes  exposed,  their 
sins  rebuked,  their  consciences  impressed,  their 
fears  awakened,  their  refuges  of  lies  swept 
away,  and  they  themselves  urged  to  flee  from 
the  coming  wrath.  May  they  be  negligent  in 
such  a  work  as  this  ? 

And  who  is  the  Master  they  serve  ?  The  Mas- 
ter they  serve  is  he  whose  "  name  is  Wonder- 
ful, Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting 
Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace."  He  is  the  Eter- 
nal One,  who  was  before  all  things ;  the  Omni- 
present One  who  walks  amid  the  golden  can- 
dlesticks, and  holds  the  stars  in  his  right  hand, 
and  is  with  his  ministers  to  the  end  of  the 
world ;  the  Omniscient  One,  and  all  the  churches 
shall  honor  him  who  searches  the  reins  and 
tries  the  heart.  He  is  the  Saviour  who  made 
them,  and  has  preserved  and  blessed  them ; 
who  owns  them,  whose  property  and  servants 
they  are  ;  who  to  rescue  them  from  death,  paid 
the  ransom  with  his  own  blood ;  and  who,  by  ten 
thousand  titles,  claims  all  that  they  have,  and 


198  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

are,  and  can  perform.  It  is  tlic  God  incarnate, 
the  humbled  Deity,  tlie  Eternal  Son  in  tears, 
and  agony  and  death,  throwing  around  him  the 
burden  of  their  offences,  and  griefs,  and  dark- 
ness, tliat  lie  might  lift  them  from  the  horrible 
abyss  of  eternal  ignomy  and  suflcring,  and 
through  them  proclaim  this  dear-bought  deliv- 
erance to  their  fellow-men.  The  heaven-born 
Pearce  could  say,  "  Yes,  my  dear,  dying  Lord, 
I  am  thine,  thy  servant;  and  if  I  neglect  the 
service  of  so  good  a  Master,  I  may  well  expect 
a  guilty  conscience  in  life,  and  a  death  as  aw- 
ful as  that  of  Judas,  or  of  Spira."  Says  Whit- 
field, "  I  want  more  tongues,  more  bodies,  more 
souls  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  Had  I  ten  thousand, 
he  should  have  them  all."  Said  Payson,  "  O 
what  a  Master  do  I  serve  !  Never  was  preach- 
ing such  sw^eet  work  as  it  is  now."  Such  men 
proved  the  temper  of  their  heavenly  armor,  nor 
did  they  desire  to  put  it  off  till  they  laid  it 
down  by  the  side  of  their  grave. 

This  diligent  devotement  to  the  duties  of  his 
office,  is  what  every  minister  oices  to  himse/f. 
He  cannot  greatly  respect  himself,  nor  the 
office  he  holds,  unless  he  is  a  man  of  exemplary 
diligence.  Paul  w^ould  have  his  beloved  pu- 
pil so  conduct  himself  that  "  \\\h  profiting  might 
appear  unto  all."  Young  ministers  are  not  al- 
ways aware  how^  much  they  are  capable  of  ac- 
complishing, until  they  set  themselves  in  ear- 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  199 

nest  to  persevering  labor.  Unexecuted,  their 
power  lies  hidden  from  themselves.  It  is  a 
fact  of  great  importance  for  them  to  ascertain 
that  their  course  may  be  onward.  The  simple 
truth  that  man  possesses  the  capacity  for  con- 
stant and  perpetual  progression  is  of  unspeaka- 
ble value  to  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Be  his 
present  knowledge  and  holiness  ever  so  small, 
his  object  should  be  progress ;  his  light  should 
"  shine  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 
But  this  is  an  impossible  thing  without  j)atieiit 
and  persevering  toil.  Severe  toil  is  what  he 
needs.  Of  no  class  of  men  may  it  be  said  with 
greater  truth,  that  their  intellectual  faculties, 
their  spiritual  graces,  and  their  moral  virtues 
need  to  be  so  disciplined  in  the  school  of  hardy 
industry.  They  must  be  inured  to  eiTort,  to 
difhcult,  and  not  unfrequently  discouraged  ef- 
fort, and  effort  that  ultimately  rises  superior  to 
discouragement ;  else  will  they  never  "  make 
full  proof  of  their  ministry."  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  those  men  in  other  profes- 
sions who  are  distinguished  for  their  wakeful 
and  patient  industry,  and  those  who  do  not  feel 
sufficient  interest  in  their  profession  to  perform 
any  more  labor  than  happens  to  be  convenient. 
There  is  the  same  difference  among  ministers. 
It  is  of  little  moment  what  their  talents  are  ;  if 
they  are  not  industrious  men,  it  is  impossible 
they  should  possess  either  the  intellectual  dis- 


200  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

cipline  or  fiiriiidirc  to  lie  permanently  useful. 
They  are  not  grow  ini]c  men,  because  they  are 
not  laborious  men.  Not  a  few  ministers  there 
are,  men  of  splendid  talents,  who  were  never 
better  preachers  than  in  their  youth.  This  is 
a  sad  failure,  and  the  cause  of  it  is  their  own 
want  of  diligence.  They  have  becorne  wearied 
with  labor  j  and  to  find  relief  from  it,  they 
have  been  changing  from  place  to  place,  and 
have  drawn  so  freely  upon  their  former  stock 
of  preparation,  that  they  are  strangers  to  the 
habit  of  untiring  application.  Others  there 
are  who  entered  upon  their  work  with  no  other 
promise  than  a  stable  character  and  a  well-dis- 
ciplined mind,  who  have  been  "  growing  with 
their  growth,  and  strengthening  with  their 
strength."  But  they  are  men  of  forethought 
and  system,  men  of  reading  and  study,  men  of 
patient  labor;  they  are  men  of  self-denial,  men 
to  w  hom  time,  and  progress,  and  usefulness,  are 
more  than  personal  comfort,  more  than  social 
intercourse,  more  than  money;  men  to  whom 
the  work  of  the  ministry  is  every  thing.  They 
were  not  born  eminent,  but  became  so  by 
great  labor  and  severe  discipline,  and  were  ac- 
customed to  great  and  long-continued  mental 
effort.  The  great  difference  in  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  is,  under  God,  the  result  of  un- 
wearied application.  No  man  has  talent  with- 
out thought ;  and  no  man  has  rich  treasures  of 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  201 

thought  without  great  labor.  God's  blessing 
is  with  a  devoted  minister.  The  minister  who 
dissipates  his  time  in  social  intercourse,  or  who 
lounges  away  the  hours  that  ought  to  be  de- 
voted, to  severer  studies  in  works  of  fiction ; 
or  who  dreams  them  aAvay  amid  the  fumes  of 
his  cigar,  need  not  be  disappointed  at  his  want 
of  power  in  the  pulpit,  nor  that  he  is  unable 
to  sustain  himself  in  his  high  vocation. 

Every  minister  ought  to  aim  at  distinction. 
Nor  is  there  more  than  one  way  of  obtaining 
it.  "  He  that  would  be  the  greatest  among 
you,"  says  the  Saviour,  "  let  liim  be  the  ser- 
vant of  all."  It  is  just  this  which  a  minister 
should  aim  to  become, — the  servant  of  God,  the 
servant  of  his  Church,  the  serva7it  of  those  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  "  the  servant  of  all." 

If  there  be  pride  enough  in  every  minister's 
heart  to  make  capital  out  of  such  an  aim  as 
this,  there  is  nothing  in  the  service  itself  that 
ministers  to  his  pride.  It  is  not  forbidden  him 
to  aim  at  such  distinction  as  was  awarded  to 
Barnabas,  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  "  he  was  a 
good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
much  people  w^as  added  to  the  Lord."  He 
need  not  fear  to  aim  at  distinction  in  all  that 
is  good  and  useful ;  distinction  in  the  work 
w  hicli  God  has  given  him  to  perform ;  distinc- 
tion in  converting  sinners  from  the  error  of  their 
ways,  and  covering  a  multitude  of  sins. 

9* 


202  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

Yet  if  he  aims  at  this,  he  must  pay  the  price 
for  it  ill  corrcspoiidini^  effort.  It  will  cost  him 
dear  (o  l)c  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  will  cost  him  solicitude  and  toil, 
l)rayer  and  pains,  days  and  nii^hts  of  care,  tears 
and  trembling.  Habit  and  years  may  alleviate 
the  solicitude,  and  dry  up  the  tears,  but  they 
do  not  diminish  the  toil.  Henry  IV.  once  said 
of  his  son,  Avho  was  eager  to  put  on  the  crown, 
"  He  little  knows  what  a  heap  of  cares  and 
toils  he  snatcheth  at."  So  we  say  of  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  "  I  envy  not  a  clergyman's 
life,"  said  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,"  as  an  easy  life ; 
nor  do  I  envy  the  clergyman  who  makes  it  an 
easy  life."  It  is  no  easy  lot;  and  where  it  is 
made  so,  it  is  no  ministry,  no  service.  If  there 
be  those  who  are  seeking  an  idle  and  easy  life, 
let  them  not  think  of  the  pulpit.  Rather  may 
they  find  it  in  the  harvest-field,  or  on  the  ocean, 
or  at  the  anvil,  or  at  the  saw  and  the  hammer ; 
but  they  will  not  find  it  in  the  faithful  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  the  pulpit.  The  service  is  one 
of  labor  ;  "  we  are  laborers  together  with  God." 
Few  among  the  laborious  ministry  but  have 
found  that  there  are  seasons  when  it  has  re- 
sponsibilities that  are  hard,  very  hard,  to  bear. 
"  If  any  man  wishes  to  be  a  successful  minis- 
ter," says  Payson,  "  he  knows  not  what  he  asks ; 
and  it  better  becomes  him  to  consider  whether 
he  can  drink  of  Christ's  bitter  cup,  and  be  bap- 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  203 

tized  with  his  baptism."  This  is,  perhaps,  too 
sombre  a  picture  ;  yet  should  we  all  have  more 
sympathy  with  such  a  thought  as  this,  did  we 
know  by  experience  as  well  as  this  man  of  God 
knew,  what  it  is  to  be  a  successful  minister. 

We  cannot  suppress  another  thought :  a 
diligent  ministry  is  the  onost  happy  ministry. 
"  Blessed  is  the  man,"  says  Carlyle,  "  who  has 
found  his  work ;  let  him  ask  no  other  blessed- 
ness. Know  thy  work,  and  do  it ;  and  work 
at  it  like  a  Hercules.  One  monster  there  is 
in  the  world ;  an  idle  man."  Payson  found 
pleasure  in  the  toil,  and  joy  in  the  very  suf- 
fering. Ministers  are  sometimes  exceedingly 
happy  in  their  work ;  and  never  more  so  than 
when  it  is  most  arduous.  "  I  find,"  says  Whit- 
field, "  that  the  more  I  do  for  God,  the  more  I 
am  able  to  do,  and  the  more  I  am  comforted  in 
doing  it."  "  I  am  glad,"  says  he,  writing  to 
one  of  his  coadjutors,  "  that  you  have  sounded 
the  silver  trum])et  in  London.  Crescet  eu7ido, 
must  be  your  motto  and  mine.  There  is  noth- 
ing like  keeping  the  wheels  oiled  by  action. 
The  more  we  do,  the  more  we  may  do ;  every 
act  strengthens  the  habit ;  and  the  best  prepa- 
ration for  preaching  on  Sundays  is  to  preach 
every  day  in  the  week."  "  I  wish  for  no 
service,"  says  Henry  Martyn,  "  but  the  service 
of  God,  in  laboring  for  souls  on  earth,  and  to 
do  his  will  in  heaven."      I  do    not  wish   for 


204  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

any  heaven  upon  earlli,  but  that  of  preaching 
tlic     precious    Gospel    of    Cln-ist    to    immortal 
souls.     I  do  not  know  that  any  thing  would  be 
a  lieaven  to  me,  but  the  service  of  Christ  and 
the  enjoyment  of  his  presence.     There  is  not 
a  thing  in  the  world  for  wliich  I  would  wish 
to  live,  except  because  it  may  please  God  to 
appoint  me  some  work."     These  are  beautiful 
thoughts  ;  they  are  the  life,  the  joy  of  the  min- 
istry.    Ev^ery  active  and  diligent  minister  may 
not  indeed  be  always  thus  happy ;  he  has  his 
seasons   of  discouragement   from   within   and 
from  without.     His  sky  is  not  always   clear; 
but  he  is  comforted  even  under  the  cloud.     If 
he  mourns  that  it  is  not  always  harvest  Avith 
him,  he  rejoices  that  it  is  always  seed-time. 
If  yellow  autumn    does  not  always  pour  its 
riches  before  his  eye,  yet  is  he  cheered  with 
the   beauties  and  the  promise  of  the   opening 
spring,  and  the  arduous  summer.     That  mor- 
bid sensibility,  that  corroding  sentimentalism 
which   is  the   bane  of  every  manly  and  ener- 
getic quality,  and  every  growing  grace;  and 
wliich  sinks  so  many  ministers  into  despond- 
ency ;   has  no  place  in  his  bosom,  because  his 
best,  and  holiest,  and   most   buoyant   desires 
are    gratified   in   the    prospect    of  responsible 
effort.     The  most  diligent  may,  indeed,  well 
feel  that  they  are  "  unprofitable  servants,"  yet 
are  they  happy  servants,  and  the  most  happy 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE.  205 

when  most  employed.  Ministers  lose  their 
relish  for  their  work  as  they  relax  their  toil. 
There  is,  there  can  he  no  charm  in  the  severer 
lahors  of  the  sacred  office  for  a  neg-ligent  la- 
horer.  He  has  few  pleasant  scenes  to  look 
back  upon ; — few  pleasant  recollections  waft 
their  fragrance  over  his  languid  mind.  The 
joy  of  a  clear  conscience  belongs  not  to  such 
a  man.  Nor  is  he  comforted  in  his  present 
labor,  however  intermitted  and  light  it  may 
be.  He  has  a  complaining  spirit ;  such  a  spirit 
is  the  natural  growth  of  an  indolent  mind.  He 
is  perpetually  making  unhappy  comparisons ; 
and,  instead  of  rejoicing  in  the  successes  of 
others,  complains  only  of  the  want  of  it  in  him- 
self. And  he  has  no  vivid  expectations  to 
cheer  him ;  there  are  few  blossomings  of  hope 
springing  up  in  his  path.  It  is  always  winter 
with  him, — never  seed-time,  never  harvest ; 
he  wanders  amid  leafless  trees,  and  shivers 
under  the  keen,  cold  wind. 

The  life  and  death  of  the  late  Dr.  Chalmers, 
presents  a  most  delightful  view  of  that  high 
degree  of  enjoyment  which  attends  a  laborious 
minister.  In  all  the  voluminous  productions 
of  his  pen,  I  do  not  recollect  a  gloomy,  or  pen- 
sive thought.  The  most  grave  and  weighty 
subjects  he  treats,  not  indeed  without  solem- 
nity, but  with  a  buoyancy  and  vigor  that  indi- 
cate a  cheerful  and  happy  mind.      I  love  to 


20G  THE    rOWKll    OK    THE    PULPIT. 

tliink  of  siuli  a  man,  niul  (o  dwell  on  the  un- 
clyiiiii^  verdure  of  his  chisteriiig  thoughts.  Even 
his  stern  and  strugiT:ling  career  interests  me,  it 
was  so  light  and  gladsome.  I  love  to  think  of 
him,  climbing  up  the  sides  of  Mount  Zion,  hold- 
ing on  sometimes  by  the  jutting  rocks,  and 
sometimes  by  the  green  boughs,  ever  tasking 
his  fortitude  as  he  ascends,  till,  like  Moses  on 
the  top  of  Nebo,  he  looks  for  the  last  time  on 
the  plain  below,  and  scarcely  conscious  of  the 
change,  finds  himself  by  the  men  of  light  and 
love,  and  in  the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
I  sometimes  think  of  such  a  man,  and  say  I 
would  not  be  a  Lazzaroni.  "  I  have  no  desire 
to  be  a  weed  on  the  shore." 

Ministers  must  soon  be  called  to  their  final 
account.  Those  \\\\o  can  look  back  upon  their 
ministry  with  thankfulness,  can  look  forward 
to  that  day  of  reckoning  with  joy.  He  who 
has  given  them  grace  to  be  diligent  and  faithful, 
has  laid  up  for  them  an  incorruptible  crown. 
"  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  forever  and 
ever."  There  remaineth  a  rest  for  God's  faith- 
ful ministers.  Blessed  rest !  glorious  and  ever- 
lasting rest !  where  the  curse  of  labor  is  passed 
away,  and  the  blessing  oidy  remains  of  serving 
God  day  and  night  in  liis  temple.  Will  it  not 
be  the  sweeter  to  those,  who  in  the  present 


MINISTERIAL    DILIGENCE.  207 

world  were  "  in  labors  more  aljundaiit  ?"  It 
is  not  "  a  heap  of  cares  and  toils  they  are 
snatching  at,"  who  look  for  the  "  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous 
Judge,  shall  give  them  at  his  appearing." 

Are  there  no  misgivings,  in  view  of  the 
judgment,  in  the  bosom  of  a  negligent  minister 
of  the  Gospel  ?  Can  he  look  forward  to  it 
with  peace,  with  hope,  with  joy,  with  triumph 
in  that  Saviour,  who  so  tenderly  requires  him 
to  feed  his  sheep  and  lambs  ?  Has  he  taken 
to  himself  the  whole  armor  of  God,  and  fought 
the  good  fight  ?  Has  he  so  run  that  he  may 
obtain  ?  Is  he  sensible  that  there  is  a  day  of 
reckoning,  and  endless  retribution  to  ministers, 
as  well  as  their  people  ?  Is  the  thought  pres- 
ent to  his  mind,  that  when  he  stands  with  them 
at  the  bar  of  God,  it  is  no  impossible  thing  for 
the  blood  of  souls  to  be  found  in  his  skirts  ? 
The  office  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  imparts 
deep  interest  to  this  day  of  final  account,  in 
regard  to  tliose  who  are  committed  to  his  trust. 
The  words  which  he  has  spoken  will  bear  tes- 
timony for  or  against  those  who  have  listened 
to  them ;  while,  if  he  himself  has  been  negli- 
gent and  faithless,  nothing  can  shield  him  from 
the  appalling  doom  of  the  unprofitable  servant. 

But  I  will  not  pursue  these  thoughts.  There 
is  a  reproach  attached  to  the  character  of  an 
idle  minister,  the  stain  of  which  is  not  easily 


208  Tlir,    POWKR   OI'^    THE    PUI.PIT. 

wiped  away.  An  idle  minister  of  tlie  Gospel 
of  the  ever  blessed  God, — what  a  i)aradox  ! 
Sn(di  a  man  belonirs  not  to  the  chiss  of  minis- 
ters whom  tlie  Saviour  had  in  Ids  thouglits, 
when  lie  said  to  his  disciples,  "  The  harvest  is 
•Threat,  but  the  laborers  are  few ;  pray  ye  there- 
fore the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  would 
send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest!"  He  is 
not  of  the  class  of  ministers  whom  the  Church 
])rays  for ;  he  should  fear  lest  he  is  out  of  his 
place,  and  lest  the  sentence  should  go  forth 
against  him,  "  Cut  him  down,  why  cumberetli 
he  the  ground!"  Instead  of  standing  between 
the  living  and  the  dead,  that  the  plague  of  sin 
may  be  stayed,  such  a  minister  is  like  the  dead 
among  the  living.  He  buries  himself  alive,  and 
is  much  more  tit  for  the  graveyard,  than  for  the 
busy  scenes  of  God's  Church  on  the  earth,  and 
her  unsleeping  conflict  with  the  powers  of 
darkness.  And  when  he  dies,  he  "  leaves 
nothing  behind  him  but  a  tomb." 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  we  should 
form  a  just  estimate  of  the  true  character  and 
Avork  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  We  are 
not  responsible  for  the  number  of  our  talents, 
but  for  the  diligent  use  of  them.  We  need 
not  be  afraid  of  toil.  There  are  sufficient  in- 
ducements to  effort,  and  effective  incentives  to 
fear.  Ministers  may  hope  for  a  grateful  return 
from  men ;  but  if  this  is  denied,  the  promise 


MINISTERIAL   DILIGENCE.  209 

is  good,  "  Lo  I  am  with  you."  They  have  the 
light  of  God's  countenance  ;  there  is  no  such 
pleasure  in  any  of  the  toils  of  earth  ;  this  world 
cannot  do  for  them  what  God  their  Maker  so 
often  does,  when  he  "  gives  them  songs  in  the 
night."  It  is  no  time  to  rest  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. Shall  ministers  be  negligent,  when  their 
mighty  and  malicious  Foe  is  so  indefatigable 
to  gain  the  victory  over  them,  and  the  souls 
committed  to  their  care  ?  Who  w-ould  not 
rather  labor  and  die  like  Payson,  than  live  in  in- 
glorious repose  in  such  a  w^ork  as  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation  ?  O  for  such  a  spirit !  O  for 
such  a  race  of  ministers, — ministers  w  ho  could 
say  with  Paul,  as  they  look  back  and  look  for- 
ward, "  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  fin- 
ished my  course !" 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  I'ULPIT. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  the  wise  and 
successful  prosecution  of  any  object  of  pursuit, 
that  it  be  made  the  great  and  absorbing  ob- 
ject ; — that  the  mind  be  perseveringly  directed 
to  it,  unobstructed  by  other  pursuits,  undivi- 
ded by  an  inferior  impulse.  A  divided  heart, 
and  a  divided  intellect  are  but  cumbrous  ob- 
stacles in  the  career  of  usefulness  ;  the  object 
must  be  single,  and  steadily  pursued,  in  defi- 
ance of  difficulties  and  dangers,  be  they  imag- 
inary, or  real. 

In  the  selection  of  his  object,  every  man  is 
under  obligations  to  make  choice  of  one  that 
is  worthy,  and  that  God  approves ;  else,  if  he 
be  a  good  man,  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to 
pursue  it  with  a  tranquil  conscience,  and  with 
hearty  good  will.  But  when  once  lie  has  se- 
lected it,  it  should  be  the  object  of  his  life, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  it  the  fulfilment  of 
his  joy. 

This  is  the  only  true  principle  of  success  in 


EVERY   THING   SUBSERVIENT  TO   THE   PULPIT,    211 

any  department  of  labor ;  it  is  the  great  prin- 
ciple acted  upon  by  men  who  attain  any  thing 
like  eminence.  They  select  their  object ; — for 
the  most  part  they  select  it  in  early  life,  and 
pursue  it  with  unshaken  resolution  and  firm- 
ness. 

Now  this  is  what  we  urge  upon  every  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel.  His  vocation  is  selected, 
and  his  great  object  is  to  fulfil  the  ministry 
which  he  has  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  But 
there  are  different  departments  of  labor  in  this 
comprehensive  profession,  some  one  of  which 
is  very  apt  to  have  the  pre-eminence  in  his 
own  thoughts  and  purposes.  If  we  have  pre- 
sented just  views  of  this  great  Christian  insti- 
tution, and  have  not  given  an  undue  estimate 
of  the  power  of  the  pulpit ;  we  have  no  em- 
barrassment in  asserting,  that  the  great  object 
of  every  minister  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  be  to 
give  the  services  of  the  pulpit  the  p'e-emi- 
nence  over  every  other  de-partment  of  ministerial 
labor.  He  may  be  tempted  to  make  them  a 
secondary  concern,  and  though  very  far  from 
subjecting  himself  to  the  reproach  of  clerical 
indolence,  direct  his  most  vigorous  efforts  to 
other  departments  of  labor. 

It  were  the  wiser  part  for  most  ministers  to 
come  to  the  conclusion  seasonably,  that  they 
may  scarcely  hope  to  excel  in  every  depart' 
ment.     If  their  great  object  is  to  be  finished 


212  THE   POWER  OF  THE    PULPIT. 

and  accomplisliod  scholars,  it  is  one  which  may 
easily  bo  attained, — much  more  easily  than  to 
be   linished  and  accom])lished  preachers;  but 
it  is  only  by  making  it  the  great  object;  any 
thing-  short  of  this,  will  at  best  assign  them  a 
secondary  rank  among  literary  and  scientific 
men.     They  may  be  good  scholars,  and  men 
of  highly   respectable   attainments  in  all  the 
departments  of  human  learning ;  and  in  those 
departments  more   immediately  allied  to  the 
exposition   of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  they  not 
only  may,  but   ought  to   be   eminent;    but  if 
they  aim  at  more  than  this,  the  pulpit  must  be 
a  subordinate  o])ject.     They  may  Iiim  at  au- 
thorship ;  they  may  enrich  the  periodical  pub- 
lications   of   the   age    with    dissertation   upon 
dissertation,  and  review  upon  review,  and  on 
subjects  which  have  very  little  relation  to  the 
work  of  a  Christian  minister ;  and  though  they 
may  do  good  service  to  the  Church  and  the 
world,  it  is  at  the  expense  of  the  pulpit.     The 
press  ought  not  to  be  the  great  object  of  a 
Christian  minister,  except  as  he  makes  use  of 
it  to  diffuse  the  instructions  of  the  sanctuary. 
The  best  and  most  important  publications  is- 
sued from  the  press  by  the  stated  preachers  of 
the  Gospel,  both  on  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
in  the  British  islands,  and  in  our  land,  are  those 
which  were   first  prepared    and    preached  to 
their  own  people.     The  published  works  of 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT,    213 

Chillingworth,  Charnock,  Home,  Butler,  Pas- 
cal, Fenelon,  Saurin,  Massillon,  Robert  Hall, 
Chalmers,  Edwards,  Davies,  Emmons,  and 
Dwight,  were  selected  from  the  choicest  dis- 
courses they  delivered  to  tlie  people  of  their 
own  charge,  and  were  the  cream  of  the  pulpit. 

Let  every  minister  of  the  Gospel,  therefore, 
select  his  object,  and  let  that  object  be  to  give 
the  services  of  the  pulpit  the  first  and  para- 
mount claim.  Every  young  man,  when  he 
enters  the  ministry,  ought  humbly,  and  with  a 
grateful  and  encouraged  dependence  on  God, 
to  aim  at  this  important  end,  patiently,  and 
with  a  strong  and  undivided  purpose.  No 
matter  what  the  temptations  to  do  otherwise, 
nor  Avhat  the  labor,  nor  what  the  temporary 
mortification ;  let  him  be  assured  of  this  one 
thing,  that  it  is  only  by  so  doing  that  he  will 
best  accomplish  the  great  end  of  his  solemn 
and  delightful  vocation,  accomplish  most  for 
God  and  the  souls  of  men,  possess  an  approv- 
ing conscience,  and  finish  his  course  with  joy. 

These  thoughts  suggest  the  general  observa- 
tion on  wliich  we  propose  to  offer  some  more 
extended  illustrations.  The  observation  is 
this  :  that  every  thing  with  which  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  is  concerned,  ought  to  he  made  subser- 
vient to  the  pulpit .  Wherever  he  is  ;  whatever 
he  does,  suffers  and  enjoys ;  whatever  he  sees. 


214  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

hears,  or  understands — every  thing  sliould  liave 
but  this  single  aim. 

We  often  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the  re- 
mark of  tlie  Saviour,  that  "  the  men  of  this 
world  are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the 
children  of  light."  The  most  accomplished 
and  successful  in  other  departments  of  profes- 
sional life  are  in  no  one  particular  more  worthy 
of  imitation  by  the  Christian  ministry,  than 
the  pains-taking  to  Avhich  they  subject  them- 
selves in  order  to  render  every  thing  subservi- 
ent to  their  professional  duties  and  character. 
They  have  but  one  object,  and  to  that  every 
thing  gives  way,  and  becomes  subordinate. 

This  is  what  we  solicit  for  the  pulpit,  and 
from  those  who  occupy  it.  The  fruits  of  their 
observation  ought  to  be  consecrated  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  sanctuary.  Ministers  form  a  part 
of  this  great  and  busy  world.  There  are  men 
and  things  everywhere  about  them,  both  in 
the  sensitive  and  intellectual  creation ;  there 
are  facts  with  which  they  are  conversant, 
every  one  of  which  may  suggest  some  appro- 
priate instruction  for  the  pulpit.  To  observe 
them,  and  thus  to  employ  them,  ought  to  be 
the  aim  of  the  preacher;  and  even  if  he  is 
curious  in  observing  them,  and  inquisitive  in 
searching  into  them,  they  may  be  turned  to 
good  account  for  the  souls  of  men.  The  heav- 
ens and  the   earth,  the  clouds,  the   rain,  the 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.     215 

vapor,  the  day,  the  night,  the  flowers  of  the 
field,  the  crowded  city  and  peaceful  hamlet, 
read  affecting  lessons  to  those  who  are  the 
appointed  teachers  of  their  fellow-men.  Ev- 
erv  individual  with  whom  the  preacher  asso- 
ciates  ;  every  place,  every  pastoral  visit,  every 
chamber  of  sickness,  every  house  of  mourning 
and  every  house  of  feasting;  every  old  man 
and  every  youth,  every  parent  and  every  child 
may  teach  Mm  something  which  may  the  bet- 
ter enable  him  to  instruct  them.  Every  pur- 
suit of  men,  every  relation  in  human  life, 
every  change  in  human  affairs ;  every  pesti- 
lence, every  season  of  mercy  and  every  start- 
ling judgment ;  every  changing  period  in  the 
life  of  man,  every  moral  and  intellectual  revo- 
lution ;  every  change  either  in  the  strategy  or 
the  tactics  of  the  great  spiritual  Enemy  of 
mankind ;  and  every  marked  event  in  the 
Divine  Providence,  ought  to  be  made  subser- 
vient to  the  pulpit.  There  every  thing  should 
be  made  to  speak,  as  God  would  have  it 
speak ;  should  utter  his  voice  and  enforce  his 
claims ;  should  proclaim  that  "  he  is  the  Lord 
in  the  midst  of  the  earth,"  and  call  upon  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor  together,  to  "  kiss  the 
Son  lest  he  be  angry,  and  they  perish  from  the 
way  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little." 

More  especially  are  these  remarks  applica- 
ble to  every  minister's  intellectual  attainments. 


216  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

Men  there  are  of  enl;iro;ed  views,  men  not  only 
of  sound  and  tlioioii<i;li  tlieological  training,  but 
men  of  literature  and  science,  and  of  extensive 
and  growing  research ;  who,  through  lack  of 
consideration,  or  of  competent  view^s  of  the 
great  work  of  the  ministry,  or  of  spirituality  of 
mind,  render  the  services  of  the  pulpit  very 
little  the  better  for  all  their  attainments.  There 
are  not  a  few  examples  of  such  men  among  the 
living ;  nor  are  examples  wanting  among  the 
illustrious  dead,  of  those  who  possessed  great 
literary  and  scientific  attainments,  but  were  far 
from  being  so  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  others  of  fewer  attainments.  Isaac  Ba- 
nin  was  far  inferior  to  John  Newton  as  a  preach- 
er, though  so  much  his  superior  in  human  learn- 
ing. Ezra  Stiles,  the  venerable  President  of 
Yale  College,  though  the  most  learned  man  of 
his  age,  w^as  far  inferior  in  the  pulpit  to  his  dis- 
tinguished contemporary,  Joseph  Bellamy.  The 
late  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  the  accomplished 
President  of  Nassau  Hall,  eminent  as  he  was  in 
the  pulpit,  may  scarcely  be  compared  witli  one 
of  his  predecessors,  Samuel  Davies,  as  an  effect- 
ive preacher  of  the  Gospel,  though  the  former 
was  confessedly  the  more  erudite  scholar. 
This  is  an  unhappiness ;  it  is  at  least  an  over- 
sight; it  may  deserve  a  harder  name.  Such 
ministers  are  not  so  successful  in  "  winning 
souls"  as  many  of  their  less  learned  and  hum- 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.    217 

ble  brethren  who  lay  their  little  stock  of  knowl- 
edge, under  constant  contribution  to  the  all- 
absorbing  duties  of  the  sanctuary.  The  reason 
why  the  more  learned  men  in  the  ministry  are 
not  always  the  richest  blessings  to  the  Church, 
and  the  highest  luminaries  in  the  world,  is, 
that  they  so  depreciate  the  importance  of  the 
pulpit. 

If  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  knows  more  than 
he  makes  use  of  for  the  cause  of  his  Divine 
Master,  he  knows  too  much.  Yet  he  cannot 
know  too  much  if  his  attainments  are  wisely 
and  devoutly  employed.  They  ought  to  be  of 
a  high  order ;  but  they  should  be  sanctified  at- 
tainments, consecrated  to  God,  and  so  em- 
ployed as  to  promote  the  great  object  of  preach- 
ing. They  are  of  little  worth  unless  they  give 
him  additional  facilities  of  illustrating  and  en- 
forcing God's  truth ;  additional  facilities  of 
access  to  the  heart  and  conscience,  and  make 
him  a  better  man  and  better  minister.  This  is 
the  class  of  preachers  which  are  so  much  need- 
ed by  the  Church  of  God  in  the  present  age  of 
the  world  ;  and  they  are  formed,  not  by  human 
learning  merely,  but  by  this  subserviency  of 
all  human,  attainments  to  the  great  object  of 
preaching  the  Gospel. 

Human  learning  is  not  more  the  handmaid 
of  Christianity,  than  the  natural  ally  of  the  pul- 
pit.    It  may  be  made  subservient  to  the  pulpit 

10 


218  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

■\vitlioiil  preacliiiig  learnedly.  A  discourse  tliat 
is  truly  and  strictly  learned,  is  rarely  called 
for  :  Avhile  the  simplest  and  plainest  exhibition 
of  God's  truth,  other  things  being  equal,  is 
very  apt  to  be  exhibited  in  the  best  way  from 
learned  lips.  It  is  a  beautiful  remark  of  the 
great  Usher,  "  It  will  take  all  our  learning  to 
make  things  plain,"  The  true  value  of  human 
learning  in  a  minister  of  Christ  depends  upon 
the  character  of  the  minister  himself.  The 
biographer  of  that  eminently  godly  man,  John 
Brown,  of  Haddington,  who  had  few  superiors 
in  classical,  oriental,  and  theological  lore,  re- 
marks that,  "  he  never  showed  his  learning  in 
the  pulpit,  except  by  bringing  down  the  great 
truths  of  God  to  the  level  of  common  capaci- 
ties." In  a  brief  auto-biography,  Mr.  Brown 
says  of  himself,  "  Notwithstanding  all  my  eager 
hunting  after  all  the  lawful  learning  that  is 
known  among  the  sons  of  men,  God  hath  made 
me  generally  to  preach  as  if  I  had  never  read 
any  other  book  but  the  Bible."  There  have 
been  distinguished  preachers  like  John  Bun- 
yan,  and  Paul  Couch,  of  New  England  mem- 
ory, who  had  very  little  learning  save  what 
they  drew  from  the  Divine  Oracles  in  their 
mother  tongue ;  but  they  were  men  of  no  or- 
dinary intellect  and  piety,  and  peculiar  fitness 
for  their  work.  Here  and  there  God  raises  up 
such  men,  that  "  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.  219 

presence."  He  has  given  them  personal  quali- 
fications wliich,  in  some  instances,  are  of  more 
value  than  all  human  learning,  and  which  no 
human  learning  can  give.  Such  men  form  ex- 
ceptions to  the  general  law  of  his  Providence. 
It  is  far  from  the  intention  of  the  preceding 
remarks  to  discourage  the  vigorous  prosecution 
of  learning  in  a  preacher  of  righteousness. 
Those  there  ought  to  be  among  this  large  class 
of  men,  who  are  not  only  able  to  give  a  Chris- 
tian literature  to  the  world,  but  who,  from  the 
eminence  and  the  opportunities  they  enjoy,  as 
the  professed  teachers  of  theological  science, 
are  under  obligation  to  give  an  elevated  and 
right  direction  to  the  minds,  even  of  severely 
studious  pastors.  We  gratefully  acknowledge 
our  obligations  to  such  teachers ;  their  names 
are  an  ornament  to  the  American  Church  ;  they 
have  not  toiled  in  the  field  of  Biblical  knowl- 
edge and  sacred  geography  in  vain  ;  and  we 
fondly  hope  that  the  sheaves  they  have  gath- 
ered are  but  the  first-fruits  of  still  more  luxuri- 
ant harvests.  No  matter  how  extended  the  re- 
searches of  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  so  long 
as  their  attainments  subserve  the  great  object 
of  preaching  the  Gospel.  The  limit  imposed 
upon  them  must  be  imposed  by  an  honest  con- 
science, and  with  an  eye  single  "to  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  If  the  preacher, 
himself  be  a  true-hearted  man,  this  great  object 


220  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

will  imi)ose  the  riii^lit  limit.  The  work  itself 
in  which  he  is  employed,  cannot  be  magnified 
beyond  its  intrinsic  greatness.  It  is  directly 
allied  to  that  Gospel  to  which  all  things  are 
subservient,  both  "  of  things  in  heaven,  and 
things  that  are  on  the  earth,"  to  that  Saviour 
"  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are 
all  things,"  and  \vhose  triumphs  involve  the 
"  subjection  of  all  things  under  his  feet."  Nev- 
er is  the  human  intellect,  in  all  the  extent  and 
minuteness  of  its  researches,  so  honored  as 
when  its  brightest  thoughts  blend  and  mingle, 
with  tlic  pure  rays  of  God's  truth.  Whether 
it  expand  itself  over  the  vast  extent  of  human 
inquiry,  or  penetrate  into  deep  caverns,  or  soar 
to  the  loftier  firmament  of  thought,  never  is  it 
more  profitably  or  delightfully  employed,  than 
when  the  pulpit  makes  it  subservient  to  the 
exalted  Saviour.  Philosophy  and  sound  think- 
ing ;  chronology,  history,  and  biography ;  sci- 
ence and  the  arts;  poetry,  music,  and  paint- 
ing ;  the  languages  and  characters  of  men  both 
among  the  living  and  the  dead,  are  then  in  their 
true  place,  when  they  are  made  to  serve  and 
lionor  Jesus  Christ.  Cultivated  and  accom- 
plished habits,  embellished  and  forcible  dic- 
tion, every  resource  and  every  acquisition  the 
preacher  can  command ;  have  their  highest 
adornment  and  greatest  practical  utility  when 
they  are  made  tributary  to  the  cross  of  Jesus. 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        221 

To  a  much  greater  extent  than  is  sometimes 
supposed  may  the  intellectual  attainments  and 
general  information  of  the  preacher  exert  this 
propitious  influence  upon  the  services  of  the 
pulpit.  Every  hook  he  reads  may  furnish  some 
aliment  for  the  pulpit,  because  it  may  furnish 
some  illustration  of  God's  truth.  But  to  secure 
this  end  requires  thought,  and  prayer,  and  pains. 
When  he  takes  a  book  in  his  hand,  or  even  an 
inconsiderable  pamphlet,  let  him  inquire.  What 
is  there  in  these  pages  that  may  he  turned  to  good 
account  in  the  service  of  my  Divine  Master  ?  He 
may  find  a  single  fact  only,  a  single  character, 
or  a  single  date,  or  it  may  be  a  single  thought, 
which  he  may  break  up  into  many  thoughts, 
and  profitably  spread  over  a  wider  surface. 
He  may  find  matter  for  a  series  of  discourses, 
in  some  prolific  thought  tliat  is  contained  with- 
in three  lines  of  the  author  he  is  reading. 
Original  authors,  like  Bishop  Butler,  Dr.  Samuel 
Clarke,  and  Dr.  Nathaniel  Emmons,  if  he  know 
how  to  make  a  wise  use  of  them,  will  not  only 
furnish  him  with  thoughts,  but  give  him  the 
power  to  think,  and  to  strike  out  trains  or  as- 
sociations of  thought  that  are  new  to  his  own 
mind. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  mistaken  notions  in  the 
world  for  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  to  lay  him- 
self under  a  sort  of  devout  interdict  from  an 
acquaintance  with  the  teachers  of  error.     His 


222  THE   POWr.R  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

business  is  to  become  acqiminted  with  all  sorts 
of  error;   more  especially  will  he  find  great  ad- 
vantaije  in  cultivating  a  familiarity  with  the 
published  works  of  the  great   champions   of 
error.     I  would  not  like  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
writings  of  those  great  masters  of  infidelity, 
Hume  and  Bolingbroke,  Voltaire  and  Herbert; 
nor  of  the  philosophic  views  of  Price,  nor  of 
the  researches  of  Priestley,  on  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  Saviour's  character ;  nor  of  the  able 
and  subtle  discourses  of  John  Taylor,  of  Nor- 
wich, and  Whitby ;  nor  of  the  works  of  Hart- 
ley, Chauncey,  and  Winchester.     Modern   in- 
fidels. Unitarians,  Arminians,  and   Universal- 
ists,   have   done    little   more   than   repeat  the 
thoughts  of  these  original  thinkers.     There   is 
a  class  of  ministers  wdio  never  preach  truth  so 
clearly  and  forcibly  as  w  hen  they  have  been 
reading  error ;  there  is  so  much  that  is  antag- 
onistic  in  tlieir   temperament,    that  they    are 
never  better  qualified  to  urge  the  more  positive 
claims  of  God's  truth,  than  when  they  come 
dis2:usted  and  sickened  from  their  interviews 
w  ith  its  enemies.     If  an  evangelical  preacher 
be  a  strong  man,  he  will  make  the  enemies  of 
truth  subserve  the  truth  itself;  more  especially 
if  they  be   strong  and  powerful  enemies,  and 
men  of  original  powers  of  mind,  he  w  ill  make 
the  eater  bring  forth  meat,  and  find  honey  in  the 
carcass  of  the  lion. 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        223 

It  is  one  thing  to  read  cursorily,  and  for 
amusement ;  another,  to  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  the  author,  and  sympathize  with  the  opera- 
tions of  his  cautious  or  ardent  mind.  It  is 
by  pursuing  the  latter  course  that  we  read  to 
advantage,  and  that  the  minds  pf  men  of  a 
hiiiher  order  than  our  own,  become  for  the 
time  our  own  minds,  and  are  employed  in  the 
work  of  our  Master.  It  is  much  easier  to  do 
this  than  it  would  appear  to  be  at  first  view ; 
though  it  may  not  be  done  without  a  good  de- 
gree of  intellectual  discipline,  nor  without 
tasking  the  invention  of  the  reader,  and  de- 
veloping his  powers  of  thinking  and  discrim- 
ination. It  is  recorded  by  the  biographer  of 
Robert  Hall,  that  "  a  page  to  him  was  more 
serviceable  than  a  volume  to  many.  Hints 
from  reading,  or  discourse,  passing  through  his 
great  mind,  expanded  into  treatises  and  sys- 
tems, until  the  adopted  was  lost  in  the  be- 
gotten ;  so  much  so  that  the  whole  appeared 
original."  There  is  an  exemplification  of  this 
remark,  in  that  beautiful  discourse  of  Mr. 
Hall's,  entitled,  "The  Vanity  of  Man  apart 
from  his  Immortality."  Every  reader  sees 
that  it  is  a  discourse  which  bears  the  marks 
of  the  author's  great  mind ;  yet  is  it  very 
difficult  to  resist  the  impression,  that  he  had 
caught  the  flame  from  the  burning  thoughts  of 
John  Howe  upon  the  same   topic.     Nor  is  it 


224  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

(liflicuK  to  see  tlmt  Dr.  Emmons,  witli  all  his 
powers  of  original  thinking,  had  diligently 
studied  the  sermon  of  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  on 
tlie  "  Unchangeableness  of  good  and  Evil,"  be- 
fore he  wrote  his  masterly  discourse  on  "  The 
essential  an^  immutable  difference  between 
Right  and  Wrong."  Some  of  the  most  orig- 
inal thinkers,  and  best  preachers,  have  been 
led  to  strike  out  trains  of  thought  for  them- 
selves, and  to  put  their  own  genius  to  the 
greatest  efforts,  by  being  familiar  with  authors 
of  the  same  cast  of  mind  with  themselves. 

A  thinking  man  too,  if  he  understands  and 
relishes  an  original  author,  though  he  be  far 
inferior  to  the  author  he  is  reading,  will  often 
perceive  important  trains  of  thought  on  topics 
that  are  altogether  foreign  to  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion, but  which  are  equally  fitted  to  illustrate 
and  enforce  some  great  principle  of  Christian 
truth  and  duty.  And  he  will  mark  them.  By 
dwelling  on  them,  imbibing  their  spirit,  and 
catching  the  enthusiasm  of  his  author,  he  can 
scarcely  avoid  making  them  his  own ;  and 
when  he  does  so,  he  will  find  them  of  great 
service,  especially  in  his  more  extemporaneous 
efforts.  There  is  many  a  fine  train  of  argu- 
ment, illustration  and  appeal  in  the  writings  of 
Cicero  and  Edmund  Burke,  which,  though  the 
authors  "  meant  not  so,  neither  in  their  heart 
did  they  think  so,"  is,  for  the  spirit  of  it,  ap- 


EVERV  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        225 

plicablc  to  more  hallowed  themes  than  those 
to  which  they  were  applied  by  the  great  Ro- 
man and  English  orators. 

We  see  for  ourselves  with  what  ingenuity 
and  adroitness  distinguished  men  in  other  pro- 
fessions turn  their  reading,  and  their  hearing 
too,  to  good  account.  Who  has  not  heard 
splendid  arguments  at  the  bar,  which,  though 
truly  original,  were  not  a  little  indebted  to  the 
pulpit  ?  The  same  maybe  said  of  some  of  the 
best  efforts  of  statesmen,  poets,  and  artists. 
The  writer  well  remembers  a  remark  made  to 
himself,  by  a  distinguished  Christian  statesman, 
who  at  the  time  to  Avhich  the  observation  re- 
fers, Avas  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  at  Wash- 
inton,  that  in  preparing  his  own  mind  and  heart 
for  one  of  the  most  important  discussions  that 
ever  came  before  that  body,  he  took  pains  to 
fortify  himself,  by  reading  one  of  the  discour- 
ses of  Robert  Hall.  Would  that  statesmen 
were  all  thus  pure,  and  thus  influenced  by 
Christian  principle !  And  if  statesmen,  and 
lawyers,  and  poets,  and  artists  may  learn  some- 
thing from  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  Avhy 
may  not  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  learn  from 
artists,  poets,  lawyers,  and  statesmen  ?  I  will 
venture  to  emphasize  artists,  because  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  pencil  are  too  much  overlooked 
by  Christian  teachers.  The  writings  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  are  not  more  important  to  a 

10* 


2'2G  THE   POWER  OP   THE    PULPIT. 

professor  of  rhetoric,  (lian  the  productions  of 
Iiis  pencil  are  to  tlie  preacher.  There  are 
scenes  in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  New 
York  and  Pliiladelpliia,  and  more  in  the  Louvre, 
in  the  gallery  of  the  Luxembourg,  and  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  and  in  the  Vatican,  on  which 
a  preacher  might  dwell  for  hours,  and  from 
which  lie  might  retire  to  his  closet  and  his 
study,  with  sensible  benefit  to  his  hearers.  The 
historical  associations  which  a  well-informed 
artist  throws  upon  the  canvas,  as  well  as  the 
impressiveness  of  the  lessons  he  teaches,  pos- 
sess great  interest  for  the  mind  of  an  enthusi- 
astic advocate  of  God's  truth.  What  the  artist 
holds  up  to  the  eye,  the  preacher  may  proclaim 
to  the  ear.  I  would  go  far  to  see  such  a  man 
as  Whitfield,  in  the  Louvre  of  Paris,  or  the 
gallery  of  the  Vatican,  at  Rome,  and  then  to 
have  heard  him  preach  ! 

The  danger  to  which  a  well-furnished  preach- 
er is  exposed  is  to  make  his  varied  attainments 
serve  himself,  rather  than  the  Master  to  whom 
he  owes  allegiance.  The  temptation  is  subtle 
and  powerful ;  for  the  "  sin  that  dwelleth  in 
liim"  is  not  subdued,  and  he  has  many  a  sinful 
and  corrupt  tendency  to  struggle  with.  Many 
a  laurel  is  entwined  around  the  Saviour's  brow 
more  for  the  sake  of  showing  the  skill  with 
which  the  wreath  is  formed,  and  the  grace 
with  which  it  is  thus  entwined,  than  for  his 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.         227 

sake  whom  it  professes  to  honor,  and  on  whose 
brow  it  is  so  gracefully  placed.  It  is  not  al- 
ways that  an  accomplished  preacher  gives  the 
adorable  and  ever-blessed  Je.sus  the  first  place. 
To  do  this  is  one  of  the  ordeals  of  a  self-sacri- 
ficing spirit,  with  which  he  must  lay  his  ac- 
count ;  it  is  one  which  nothing  but  large  mea- 
sures of  grace,  intimate  fellowship  with  things 
unseen,  and  probably  frequent  and  severe  per- 
sonal trials,  will  enable  him  to  endure.  His 
duty  is  to  merge  the  man  of  letters  in  the 
humble  preacher  of  the  Gospel;  his  danger, 
that  of  merging  the  preacher  in  the  man  of 
letters.  Human  learning  is  the  natural  auxil- 
iary of  God's  truth ;  nor  is  that  minister  to  be 
envied  who  overlooks  this  relation  and  forces 
it  to  honor  himself  rather  than  him  to  whom 
all  honor  belongs. 

But  they  are  not  only  the  observation  and 
attainments  of  the  preacher,  that  ought  to  be 
made  subservient  to  the  pulpit;  the  cause  he 
advocates  has  strong  claims  on  his  own  per- 
sonal experience.  It  is  not  so  much  his  experi- 
ence of  men  and  things  to  which  reference  is 
here  had,  as  his  own  spiritual  experience  as  a 
child  of  God,  and  the  minister  of  his  Gospel. 
There  are  emotions  of  which  he  is  conscious, 
w  hich  relate  to  his  own  eternal  well-being  and 
to  the  state  of  his  own  soul,  which  ought  to 
exert  a  very  important  influence  on  his  useful- 


228  THE   POWER  OF   TFIE   PULPIT. 

ness.  If  lie  is  a  child  of  God,  and  his  heavenly 
Father  has  truly  called  him  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel of  his  Son ;  and  more  especially  if  he  de- 
signs to  make  him  eminently  useful,  he  will 
fit  him  for  his  work  by  those  experiences  of 
his  faithfulness  which  show  that  "  he  leads  the 
blind  by  a  way  they  knew  not,  and  in  paths 
that  they  have  not  known."  It  is  most  de- 
lightful to  mark  the  hand  of  God,  and  ob- 
serve his  abounding  grace  toward  his  ministers 
in  training  them  for  his  service,  even  from 
their  youth.  He  thinks  much  of  them,  even 
when,  like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  John  Newton,  and 
Mowes  of  Prussia,  they  are  thinking  little  of 
him.  He  is  preparing  them  for  the  hardships, 
and  even  the  peculiarity  of  their  spiritual  war- 
fare, and  shaping  their  course  with  a  view  to 
the  field  of  labor  they  are  to  occupy,  even 
when  he  is  not  in  all  their  tlioughts. 

When  it  pleases  him  to  call  them  by  his 
grace,  and  reveal  his  Son  in  them,  that  they 
may  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  his 
grace,  his  dealings  with  them  are  generally 
more  observable  and  strongly  marked.  They 
have  much  to  learn  of  themselves  ;  much  of  the 
varied  workings  of  their  own  deceitful  and 
wicked  hearts;  much  of  the  subtle  and  power- 
ful temptations  of  the  great  Adversary ;  much 
of  God  and  the  fulness  of  his  grace  in  Jesus 
Christ,  if  they  become  able  and  faithful  minis- 


EVERY  THING   SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        229 

ters  of  the  New  Testament.  And  they  have 
no  such  teacher  as  their  Divine  Lord.  He  well 
understands  wdiat  they  most  need  to  learn,  and 
when,  and  by  what  means  to  instruct  them 
most  effectively.  There  is  a  remarkable  adap- 
tation in  his  teaching  to  the  temperament,  and 
character,  and  associations  of  his  ministers;  to 
their  internal  spirit  and  their  outward  condi- 
tion ;  to  their  experiences  and  their  weaknesses, 
and  to  the  peculiar  labors  which  they  are  called 
to  perform.  ''  I  girded  thee,"  says  God  to  Cy- 
rus, "  though  thou  hast  not  known  me."  In  a 
qualified  sense,  this  is  true  of  all  the  faithful 
ministers  of  Christ.  Their  ignorance  of  what 
God  is  about  to  do  with  them,  and  for  them, 
and  by  them,  is  a  veil  woven  by  heavenly 
mercy ;  and  had  it  been  removed,  many  a  time 
had  their  heart  sunk  within  them.  No  small 
part  of  their  history  is  one  either  of  painful  or 
agreeable  disappointments.  Often  they  are 
disappointed  in  their  fears;  and  at  the  very 
crisis  when  their  apprehensions  are  most  ex- 
cited, and  their  hopes  most  depressed,  God 
gives  them  "  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and 
the  garment  of  praise  for  the  .spirit  of  hea- 
viness ;  and  instead  of  the  depression  they 
looked  for,  they  are  enabled  to  say  with  the 
Psalmist,  "  Thy  right  hand  hath  holden  me  up, 
and  thy  gentleness  hath  made  me  great."  On 
the  other  hand,  they  are  often  disappointed  in 


230  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

llieir  hopes.  The  j)rovideiice  of  God  toward 
them  seems  to  have  scarcely  an  immiugliiig  of 
lii>:lit  witli  darkness ;  (heir  cup  is  bitter,  and 
full  of  wormwood  and  gall.  Sins  oppress  them  ; 
Satan  ensnares  them,  and  his  fiery  darts  com- 
pass them  about  on  every  side  ;  terrors  take 
hold  on  them  as  ^^  aters ;  God  hides  liis  face, 
and  they  arc  troubled  ;  and  they  know  not  how 
to  speak  in  his  name.  How  various,  and  often 
how  wonderfully  mysterious,  are  the  ways,  the 
dark  and  intricate  paths  by  which  he  leads  his 
ministers!  Sometimes  ife  is  by  being  left  to 
great  sins,  and  sometimes  by  being  subjected 
to  great  afflictions ;  sometimes  by  the  sins  of 
others,  and  sometimes  by  the  sweetness  and 
richness  of  their  graces  ;  sometimes  by  friends, 
and  sometimes  being  left  friendless ;  sometimes 
by  honor,  and  sometimes  by  dishonor;  but  al- 
ways by  methods  which  may  be  employed  for 
their  usefulness  as  the  dispensers  of  his  truth. 

If  a  minister  w  ould  give  the  pulpit  its  ap- 
propriate energy,  he  will  make  all  his  varied 
experience  subservient  to  the  duties  of  the 
sanctuary.  The  burden  of  every  man's  preach- 
ing will  be  very  apt  to  be  that  which  most  in- 
terests his  own  mind  and  heart.  It  is  the  ob- 
vious design  of  God,  both  in  the  dispensations 
of  his  providence  and  grace,  to  lead  their  own 
minds  to  feel  an  interest  in  subjects,  and 
thoughts,  which  it  is  of  special  importance  they 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.         231 

should  present  to  their  hearers.  Hence  the 
importance  of  their  observing  his  dealings  with 
them,  and  making  the  best  use  of  their  own 
experience  in  the  instruction  of  those  commit- 
ted to  their  charge.  If  he  smiles  or  frowns  upon 
them ;  if  he  suffers  Satan  to  liave  them  that  he 
may  sift  them  as  wheat ;  if  he  gives  them  un- 
wonted and  humbling  views  of  their  own  sin- 
fulness ;  and  with  great  experience  of  their 
own  wickedness,  great  experience  also  of  their 
Saviour's  love  and  mercy ;  if  he  covers  them 
witli  darkness  ;  or  enables  them  to  walk  in  the 
light  of  his  countenance  ;  it  is  not  for  their  sakes 
only,  but  for  those  to  whom  they  minister. 
When  we  read  the  life  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  how 
obvious  is  it,  that  it  was  the  gracious  purpose  of 
God  to  teach  the  world  by  the  religious  expe- 
rience of  this  his  chosen  servant.  Or  when  we 
read  the  life  of  Edward  Payson,  we  cannot  re- 
pel the  conviction,  that  it  w  as  for  their  sakes 
to  whom  he  preached  the  glorious  Gospel,  that 
his  religious  experience  w^as  so  strongly  marked, 
and  so  various ;  that  he  w'as  so  often  plunged 
into  the  horrible  pit  and  miry  clay,  and  that  his 
feet  were  so  firmly  set  on  the  Rock  of  Ages, 
and  a  new  song  put  in  his  mouth. 

There  are  shades  of  difference  in  the  ex- 
perience of  God's  ministers  in  different  peri- 
ods of  their  history.  Youthful  ministers  are 
more  apt  to  be  severe  and  objurgatory;  the 


232  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

more  a<i:c{l  arc  more  pcM'suasivc.  Youthful 
ministers  breathe  the  atmosplicre  of  Sinai,  more 
freely,  aiul  more  fully  utter  forth  its  thunders; 
^vhile,  in  a  few  passing  years,  tliese  same 
preacliers  (hvell  more  on  tlie  matcliless  love  of 
Christ,  and  in  melting  and  simple  strains  be- 
seech men  to  become  reconciled  to  God.  It 
is  not  often  that  you  hear  a  man  in  the  vigor  of 
matured  years,  representing  in  all  their  terrors 
the  torments  of  the  damned  ;  he  alludes  to 
them,  he  affectionately  affirms  them;  but  he 
knows  too  much  of  the  terrors  of  the  Lord, 
to  dwell  upon  the  fearful  theme.  Youthfid 
preacliers  make  less  of  a  single  topic ;  w  hile 
older  ones  throw  around  it  the  scattered  rays 
of  thought,  and  collect  them  together  in  richer 
and  brighter,  though  less  gorgeous  constella- 
tions. Youthful  preachers  have  more  to  do 
with  argument  and  demonstration;  older  ones 
assume  what  they  have  so  often  proved,  and 
are  more  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  Gospel, 
than  its  doctrines.  Men  require  both  these 
kinds  of  preaching  ;  there  must  be  sons  of  thun- 
der, and  sons  of  consolation ;  duties  as  well  as 
doctrines,  must  occupy  a  wide  space  in  that 
system  of  religious  instruction  which  is  to  re- 
generate the  world ;  nor  would  the  pulpit  be- 
come the  full  and  round  echo  of  God's  truth,  if 
it  did  not  partake  of  all  that  variety  of  instruc- 
tion, and    those   changing  shades  of  thought, 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.         233 

which  form  the   counterpart  of  tlie  preacher's 
own  experience. 

Not  only  does  God  prepare  his  servants  for 
this  well-adapted  and  elTectivc  teaching,  but,  if 
they  are  "wise,  and  will  observe  these  things," 
they  will  learn  of  him  who  thus  "  teacheth 
them  to  profit,  and  who  leadeth  them  by  the 
way  that  they  should  go."  They  never  preach 
with  so  much  simplicity  and  power,  as  when 
they  come  to  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath,  with 
the  lessons  which  the  Spirit,  or  the  providence 
of  God,  or  both,  have  been  instilling  into  their 
own  minds  during  the  week.  They  are  some- 
times precious  Sabbaths  then,  and  they  are 
sometimes  fearful  Sabbaths ;  but  they  are  ef- 
fective Sabbaths ;  there  is  a  solemnity,  a  ten- 
derness, an  impressiveness,  and  even  a  jjeculi- 
aritij  attached  to  them  not  soon  forgotten.  "  In 
my  preaching  of  the  word,"  says  John  Bunyan, 
"  I  took  special  notice  of  this  one  thing,  namely, 
that  the  Lord  did  lead  me  to  begin  where  his 
word  begins  with  sinners ;  that  is  to  condemn 
all  flesh,  and  to  open  and  allege  that  the  curse 
of  God  by  the  law,  doth  belong  to,  and  lay 
hold  on  all  men  as  they  come  into  the  world, 
because  of  sin.  Now,  this  part  of  my  work  I 
fulfilled  with  great  feeling ;  for  the  terrors  of 
the  law  and  guilt  of  my  transgressions  lay  heavy 
on  my  conscience.  I  preached  what  I  felt, — • 
what  I  smartingly  did  feel ;   even  that  under 


23-4  THE    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

which  my  poor  soul  did  groan  and  tremble  to  as- 
tonishment.    Indeed  I  have  been  sent  as  one 
to  tliem  from  tlic  dead.    I  luent  myself  in  chains, 
to  preach  to  them  in  chains ;  and  carried  that 
fire  in  my  own  conscience  that  I  persuaded  them 
to  be  aware  of.     I  can  truly  say,  and  that  with- 
out dissemblini^,  that  I  have  gone  full  of  guilt, 
and  trembling  even  to  the  pulpit-door  ;  and  there 
it  hath  been  taken  off;  and  I  have  been  at 
liberty  in  my  mind  until  I  have  done  my  worlv." 
Just  think  of  Bunyan's  preaching  such  a  dis- 
course as  the   one   we   find    in  his  published 
works,  entitled  "  The  Barren  Fig  Tree,"  with 
such  a  state  of  mind  as  this  !     Listen,  while 
he  represents  the  angry  God  as  saying,  "  Death, 
come  smite  me  this  fig  tree.     Fetch  away  this 
fig  tree  to  the  fire ;  fetch  this  barren  professor 
to  hell.     At  this.  Death  comes  with  grim  looks 
to  the   chamber;   yea,   and  hell  follows  with 
him  to  the  bedside,  and  both  stare  this  profes- 
sor in  the  face, — yea,  begin  to  lay  hands  upon 
him.     And  now  he  begins  to  bethink  himself, 
and  cry  to  God  for  mercy.     Lord,  spare  me  ! 
Lord,  spare   me !     Nay,  saith   God,  you   have 
been  a  provocation  to  me  these  three  years. 
How  many  times  have  you  disappointed  me  ? 
How  many  seasons  have  you  spent  in  A'ain  ? 
How  many  sermons  and  other  mercies  did  I 
of  my  patience  afford  you,  but  to  no  purpose 
at   all  ?     Tahc  him  Death !     O !   good   Lord, 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        235 

saith  the  sinner,  spare  me  but  this  once  ;  raise  • 
me  but  this  once  ;  try  me  this  once,  and  see 
if  I  do  not  mend.  Well,  saith  God,  let  this 
professor  alone  for  this  time ;  I  will  try  him 
a  while  longer.  But  by  the  time  he  hath  put 
on  his  clothes,  and  come  down  from  his  bed,  he 
doubleth  his  diligence  after  this  world,  and  the 
heart  of  this  poor  creature  is  fully  set  in  him 
to  do  evil.  Now  God  takes  hold  of  his  axe 
again,  and  heaves  it  higher ;  for  now  indeed 
he  is  ready  to  smite  the  sinner.  His  fury 
comes  up  into  his  face  ;  now  he  comes  out  of 
his  holy  place,  and  is  terrible  ;  now  he  swear- 
etli  in  his  wrath,  that  they  shall  never  enter 
into  his  rest.  I  exercised  toward  you  my  pa- 
tience, yet  you  have  not  turned  unto  me,  saith 
the  Lord.  Because  I  have  purged  thee,  and 
thou  wast  not  purged,  thou  shalt  not  be  purged 
from  thy  filthiness  any  more,  till  I  cause  my 
fury  to  rest  upon  thee  ; — cut  it  down,  why  doth 
it  cumber  the  ground  ?  And  now  Death  is  at 
work,  cutting  of  him  down,  hewing  both  bark 
and  heart, — both  body  and  soul  asunder.  The 
man  groans,  but  Death  hears  him  not ;  he  looks 
ghastly, — he  sighs, — he  trembles  ; — but  Death 
matters  nothing.  He  that  cuts  him  down, 
sways  him  as  the  feller  of  wood  sways  the  tot- 
tering tree  ; — now  this  way,  then  that ;  at  last 
a  root  breaks,  an  heart-string  snaps  asunder; 


236  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

— out  fj^oes  llic  weary,  trembling  soul,  down  to 
the  chambers  of  death." 

But  it  was  not  always  thus  with  this  remark- 
able preacher ;  he  himself  refers  to  other  and 
more  delightful  seasons;  different  ^vords  from 
these  often  dro])ped  from  his  lips.  To  the 
treml)ling  and  heavy-laden  sinner,  he  could 
say,  "  Christ  hath  everlasting  life  for  him  that 
Cometh  to  him,  and  he  shall  never  perish.  He 
hath  everlasting  righteousness  to  clothe  him 
with;  and  precious  blood,  that  is  like  an  open 
fountain  for  him  to  wash  in ;  and  precious 
promises,  and  he  shall  have  a  share  in  them ; 
and  fulness  of  grace  for  him,  and  wonderful 
love,  bow^els,  and  compassion.  He  is  open 
and  free-hearted  to  do  thee  good ;  he  hath 
prepared  a  golden  altar  for  thee  to  offer  thy 
prayers  and  tears  upon;  he  hath  strewed  all 
the  way,  from  the  gate  of  hell  to  the  gate  of 
heaven,  with  flowers  out  of  his  own  garden. 
Behold  how  the  promises,  invitations,  calls, 
and  encouragements,  like  lilies,  lie  round 
about  thee !  Yea,  he  hath  mixed  them  all 
with  his  own  name,  his  Son's  name ;  also  with 
the  name  of  mercy,  goodness,  compassion, 
love,  pity,  grace,  forgiveness.  Coming  sinner, 
hast  thou  not  now  and  then  a  kiss  from  the 
sweet  lips  of  Jesus  Christ; — I  mean,  some 
blessed  w^ord,  dropping,  like  a  honeycomb, 
upon  thy  soul  to  revive  thee  ?     Hast  thou  not 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT,        237 

sometimes,  as  it  were,  the  very  warmth  of  his 
wings  overshadowing  the  face  of  thy  soul,  that 
gives  thee,  as  it  were,  a  glow  upon  thy  spirit, 
as  the  bright  beams  of  the  sun  do  upon  thy 
body,  when  it  suddenly  breaks  out  of  a  cloud, 
though  presently  it  is  all  gone  away  ?  Well, 
all  these  things  are  the  good  hand  of  thy  God 
upon  thee,  to  constrain,  to  provoke,  to  make 
thee  willing  and  able  to  come,  that  thou  might- 
est  in  the  end  be  saved." 

Speaking  of  the  seasons  of  terror  to  which 
we  just  now  referred,  Bunyan  says :  "  After 
which  the  Lord  came  in  upon  my  soul  with 
some  sure  peace  and  comfort  through  Christ; 
for  he  did  give  me  many  sweet  discoveries  of 
his  blessed  grace  through  him.  Wherefore 
I  now  altered  in  my  preaching,  for  I  still 
preached  what  I  saw  and  felt.  Now  therefore, 
did  I  much  labor  to  hold  forth  Jesus  Christ  in 
all  his  offices,  relations,  and  benefits  to  the 
world,  and  did  also  strive  to  discover  and  con- 
demn or  remove  those  false  supports  and  props, 
on  whicli  the  world  doth  both  lean,  and  by 
them  fall  and  perish. — And  when  I  have  done 
the  exercise,  it  hath  gone  to  my  heart  to  think 
the  word  should  now  fall  as  rain  on  stony 
places ;  still  wishing  from  my  heart,  that  they 
who  have  heard  me  speak  this  day,  did  but  see 
as  I  do  what  sin,  death,  and  hell,  and  the  curse 


238  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

of  God  is  ;  and  also  wliat  tlic  c^racc,  love,  and 
mercy  of  God  is,  through  Jesus  Christ." 

There  is  a  tact  in  some  ministers  in  thus 
makini^  all  their  observation,  learning,  and 
experience  subservient  to  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary.  George  Whitfield  probably  pos- 
sessed this  faculty  more  than  any  other 
preacher  since  the  days  of  Christ.  His  biog- 
rapher remarks,  "  that  it  was  no  ditficuit  mat- 
ter to  see  on  wdiat  subjects  he  had  been  read- 
ing during  the  week  ;  for,  whatever  they  were, 
they  would  be  sure  to  give  freshness  and 
novelty  to  his  illustrations  of  divine  truth  on 
the  ensuing  Lord's  Day."  And  we  may  add, 
that  his  habits  of  observation  seemed  all  to 
have  this  single  aim.  And  so  did  his  own  re- 
ligious experience ;  for  he  frequently  narrated 
it  from  the  pulpit,  and  with  a  freedom  that 
would  appear  unbecoming  in  our  fastidious 
affe.  These  were  some  of  his  great  excellen- 
cies  as  a  preacher.  He  made  "the  things  that 
be  of  men  savor  the  things  that  be  of  God." 
His  "  hands  dropped  with  myrrh,  and  his  fin- 
gers with  sweet-smelling  myrrh  upon  the  han- 
dles of  the  lock."  He  seemed  to  carry  the 
*'  bundle  of  myrrh "  within  his  own  bosom. 
He  had  an  aptitude  and  skill  which  were  most 
remarkable,  in  seizing  upon  the  last  author  he 
had  read,  and  upon  passing  events,  and  his 
own   recent   experience,  and   applying   them 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        239 

with  prodigious  power  to  the  great  object  of 
preaching  the  Gospel.  But  the  remark  may 
not  be  omitted,  that  he  not  acquire  this  facil- 
ity without  effort  ;  his  mind  and  heart  were 
trained  to  it  by  great  vigilance  and  much 
prayer.  We  may  be  allowed  to  furnish  a  sin- 
gle example  of  this  last  observation.  On  his 
first  visit  to  Edinburgh,  soon  after  his  arrival, 
there  was  an  unhappy  man  to  be  executed. 
On  the  day  of  the  execution,  Whitfield  min- 
gled with  the  crowed,  and  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  decency  and  solemnity  with 
which  the  awful  scene  was  conducted.  On 
the  next  day,  he  preached  to  a  very  large 
assembly  in  a  field  near  the  city,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Saviour's  crucifixion ;  and  in  the 
course  of  his  sermon  adverted  to  the  scenes  of 
the  preceding  day.  "  I  know,"  said  he,  "  that 
many  of  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
my  appearance  yesterday  with  my  character. 
I  went  as  an  observer  of  human  nature,  and  to 
see  the  effect  which  such  an  example  would 
have  on  those  who  witnessed  it.  I  watched 
the  conduct  of  almost  every  person  present  on  that 
awful  occasion  ;  and  I  was  highly  pleased  with 
their  demeanor,  which  has  given  me  a  very 
favorable  opinion  of  the  Scottish  nation.  Your 
sympathy  was  visible  in  your  countenances, 
particularly  when  the  moment  arrived  when 


240  THE   POWER  OF  THE    PULPIT. 

your  iinlinppy  follow-crcature  was  to  close  his 
eyes  on  tliis  world  forever.  Then  you  all,  as 
if  moved  hij  one  impulse,  turned  your  heads  aside 
and  wept !  And  those  tears  were  precious,  and 
will  be  had  in  remembrance.  How  different 
was  it  when  the  Saviour  of  manJdiul  luas  extended 
on  the  cross  !  The  Jews,  instead  of  sympa- 
thizing in  his  sorrows,  triumphed  in  them. 
They  reviled  him  with  words  even  more  bitter 
than  the  gall  and  vinegar  they  gave  him  to 
drink.  ISot  one  of  all  that  witnessed  his  pains 
turned  aside  his  head,  even  in  the  last  pang  ! — 
Yes,  my  friends,  there  was  one  ; — that  glorious 
Luminary  veiled  his  brightness,  and  travelled  on 
his  course  in  tenfold  night .-'" 

The  effect  may  well  be  believed  to  be  elec- 
trical. But  it  was  no  casual  remark  of  the 
great  preacher;  nor  was  it  from  the  impulse 
of  the  moment.  It  was  premeditated  ;  he  took 
time,  and  pains,  and  even  subjected  himself  to 
obloquy  in  order  to  make  the  execution  of  this 
poor  criminal  subserve  the  claims  of  Him  who 
was  crucified. 

Few  men  are  equal  to  this.  Yet  ought 
every  preacher  to  do  all  that  in  him  lies  to 
give  effect  to  his  preaching,  and  make  every 
thing  subserve  the  pulpit.  Tlie  pulpit  is  his 
place.  There  is  his  work.  There  he  stands 
as  God's  ambassador  to  guilty  men ;  and  just 


EVERY  THING  SUBSERVIENT  TO  THE  PULPIT.        241 

in  the  measure  in  which  he  magnifies  his  of- 
fice, will  he  make  all  that  he  is,  and  all  that  is 
committed  to  him,  tributary  to  the  work  which 
God  has  given  him  to  do. 

11 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE    PREACUEr's    INTEREST    IN    HIS    IMMEDIATE    SUBJECT. 

Where  every  thing  on  the  part  of  the 
preacher  is  made  subservient  to  the  duties  of 
the  pulpit,  he  will  be  very  apt  to  feel  an  inter- 
est in  the  work  which  is  more  immediately 
before  him.  An  able  advocate  at  the  bar,  not 
only  feels  an  interest  in  the  law,  as  a  profession, 
and  makes  every  thing  subordinate  to  his  pro- 
fessional advancement ;  he  feels  a  special  in- 
terest in  his  client  and  in  his  cause.  A  good 
physician  not  only  feels  an  interest  in  the  sci- 
ence of  medicine  ;  he  feels  a  deep  and  absorb- 
ing interest  in  liis  patient,  and  in  the  .specific 
disease  which  is  beinc:  under  his  treatment. 
So,  to  give  the  pulpit  its  appropriate  power,  it 
is  necessary,  that  the  preacher  possess  a  deep 
interest  in  the  subject  of  every  particular  discourse. 
I  do  not  mean  by  this,  a  general  interest  in  the 
great  object  of  preaching  the  Gospel ;  of  this 
I  have  already  spoken ;  but  a  special  interest 
in  the  subject  itself  which  forms  the  theme  of 
the  discourse  which  he  is  actually  uttering. 


PREACHER'S  INTEREST  IN  HIS  SUBJECT.  243 

The  subjects  which  form  the  themes  of  dis- 
course from  the  Christian  pulpit,  are  in  them- 
selves capable  of  producing  and  sustaining  a 
very  high  degree  of  interest  in  the  mind  of  the 
preacher.  We  have  before  referred  to  them; 
nor  are  there  to  be  found  topics  of  thought 
within  the  wide  range  over  which  the  human 
mind  expatiates,  to  be  compared  with  these. 
The  highest  intensity  of  feeling  ever  brought 
to  the  truth  of  God,  falls  below  the  great  and 
exciting  theme.  Whatever  is  lucid  in  state- 
ment ;  vivid  or  great  in  conception ;  powerful 
in  argument ;  accurate  in  discrimination  ;  in  a 
word,  all  that  is  concentrated  or  discursive, 
which  the  preacher  himself  is  able  to  com- 
mand, may  be  employed  and  exhausted  on  the 
great  and  varied  subjects  with  which  his  mind 
is  officially  familiar.  There  is  no  vigor  of 
thought,  and  no  tenderness  of  heart  and  feel- 
ing, however  elevated,  subdued  or  subduing, 
but  here  finds  an  appropriate  place.  Every 
passion  of  the  human  mind  may  here  be  ex- 
pressed, from  the  more  tranquil  to  the  more 
agitated ;  from  the  tears  of  compassion  and 
grief,  to  the  thrilling  emotions  of  joy  and  tri- 
umph ;  from  hallowed  indignation  to  transport- 
ing complacency.  It  is  not  possible  to  feel  too 
deeply, — too  intensely  on  such  themes.  Moses, 
when  he  came  down  from  the  mount,  with  his 
face  radiant,  and  shining  from  the  power  of 


244  THE  POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT, 

sacred  tliou2:ht  and  sentiment ;  and  Paul  in 
the  third  heavens,  were  but  exemplifications 
of  that  state  of  mind  which  the  trutii  of  God  is 
capable  of  producing,  even  in  creatures  whose 
"  foundation  is  in  the  dust,  and  who  dwell  in 
clay."  It  is  one  of  the  great  peculiarities  of 
God's  truth,  that  the  most  vigorous  and  sen- 
sitive minds  never  become  weary  in  contem- 
plating it,  except  from  their  own  infirmity. 
The  more  and  the  longer  they  pursue  these 
mighty  thoughts,  and  the  more  labor  they  de- 
vote to  the  pursuit,  the  greater  the  interest, 
the  freshness,  with  which  the  pursuit  is  con- 
ducted. Angels  stoop  down  to  look  into  these 
things ;  their  mighty  minds  cannot  fully  grasp 
them ;  they  are  amazed  and  confounded  be- 
fore them,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  them, 
cover  their  faces  with  their  wings. 

It  is  not  so  with  error  :  error,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  becomes  tame  and  spiritless. 
Enterprising  minds  become  weary  of  it;  and 
after  a  few  bold  and  strong  efforts,  are  very 
apt  to  abandon  the  appropriate  duties  of  the 
pulpit,  if  not  the  pulpit  itself,  for  other  employ- 
ments tiiat  are  more  congenial  to  their  high 
intellectual  impulses.  The  reason  why  the 
enterprising  mind  of  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Priest- 
ley, employed  itself  so  extensively  on  subjects 
foreign  to  Christianity,  no  doubt  was,  that  he 
did  not  find  enough  in  the  meagre  and  bald 


PREACHER'S   INTEREST  IN  HIS   SUBJECT.        245 

Christianity  of  which  lie  was  the  advocate,  to 
interest  his  own  masculine  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions. If  the  true  secret  were  known,  this 
would  probably  be  found  to  be  the  reason  why 
not  a  few  of  the  most  accomplished  men  of  the 
Unitarian  School,  in  our  own  land,  have  sick- 
ened of  their  work,  and  directed  their  thoughts 
to  more  exciting  scenes  and  labors. 

The  preacher's  subject  is  never  a  bad  one, 
so  long  as  it  is  taken  from  the  Bible.  All  that 
is  necessary  to  give  the  more,  or  the  most 
trivial,  sufficient  interest,  is  to  make  it  the 
matter  of  sufficiently  thorough  inquiry.  Be 
the  theme  what  it  may,  that  is  selected  from 
this  inexhaustible  treasure-house  of  thought, 
there  is  not  one  among  them  all  but  is  capable 
of  imparting  deep  interest  to  the  mind  of  the 
preacher ;  while  the  more  important  impart  to 
it  an  interest,  a  solicitude,  w  Inch  are  sometimes 
actually  too  great  for  flesh  and  blood  to  bear. 

I  have  heard  preachers, — poetical,  beautiful 
preachers, — whose  tongue  was  smoother  than 
oil,  and  whose  pencil  was  cold  and  faint  as 
"  the  star-beams  that  dance  on  the  icy  sea."  I 
have  also  heard  those  whose  heart  was  so  ab- 
sorbed by  their  theme,  that  they  hurried  along 
the  mind  of  their  hearers  till  they  kindled  a 
congenial  enthusiasm.  Griffin  did  this,  and 
so  did  Larned.  Brainerd  and  Payson  were 
victifus  to  the    deep  and    unrelieved  interest 


246  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

wliich  tlicy  felt  in  the  subjects  which  they 
presented  with  so  much  success  to  their  peo- 
pk^  It  actually  crushed  them  to  a  premature 
grave.  No  man  could  long  survive  this  in- 
tensity of  solicitude,  were  it  felt  to  the  full 
extent  which  the  subjects  themselves  are  ca- 
pable of  imparting.  I  may  not  affirm  that 
such  intensity  of  feeling  as  this  is  the  duty  of 
ministers ;  yet  were  it  a  great  privilege  to  be 
more  deeply  imbued  with  this  divine  life.  It 
will  not  be  felt  in  all  its  power  until  this  mor- 
tal pnts  on  immortality  ;  but  we  may  well  long 
to  feel  it  more.  It  were,  indeed,  high  bless- 
edness to  feel  it  more  deeply.  Breathe, 
blessed  Spirit !  O  breathe,  not  only  upon  the 
dry  bones  of  the  valley,  but  on  us  who  proph- 
esy to  them  in  thy  name,  that  we  may  live ! 

We  are  not  in  much  danger,  in  this  age  of 
declension,  of  that  interest  which  shall  dimin- 
ish our  usefulness  by  curtailing  our  period  of 
labor.  Our  minds  and  our  hearts  are  suffi- 
ciently sluggish;  inertness  of  spiritual  thought 
and  feeling  is  our  besetting  sin  :  we  have  no 
fear  that  the  machinery  will  be  overworked 
by  a  too  powerful  stimulus.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  are  so  many  difficulties  in  main- 
taining that  interest  in  the  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary which  their  importance  requires,  that 
the  danger  lies  in  dying  rather  from  the  oppo- 


PREACHER'S   INTEREST  IN   HIS    SUBJECT.        247 

site  cause,  or  lingering  under  a  slow  paralysis 
of  all  right  and  vivid  emotion. 

The  youthful  ministry  have  not,  indeed,  so 
much  to  struggle  with,  in  this  respect,  as  those 
who  are  in  the  heyday  of  human  life,  and 
those  whose  sun  is  going  down.  The  first 
vivid  impressions  of  truth  are  still  fresh  upon 
their  minds  ;  there  is  no  such  decay  of  that 
natural  ardor  which,  when  brought  into  the 
service  of  Christ,  is  so  beautifully  impressive 
and  enchanting ;  the  novelty  of  their  work  is 
not  gone  ;  and  even  deficiencies  in  grace  are 
ostensibly  supplied  by  the  redundancies  of  na- 
ture. Yet  are  we  all  deficient  here  ;  we  are 
guilty,  both  young  and  old,  for  this  strange  in- 
sensibility to  the  claims  of  God's  truth  upon 
our  best  and  warmest  affections  and  most  ar- 
dent zeal. 

It  is  no  unimportant  inquiry.  How  shall  a 
deep  interest  in  his  subject  be  produced  in 
the  preacher's  own  mind  ?  The  answer  to  this 
question  one  would  think  the  simplest  thing  in 
the  world.  So  far  as  human  means  and  efforts 
are  concerned,  it  is  by  just  such  a  process  as 
that  by  which  the  mind  of  Edmund  Burke  was 
interested  in  his  most  impressive  speeches  be- 
fore the  British  House  of  Commons  ;  it  is  just 
by  those  means  by  which  the  mind  of  Guizot 
was  interested  in  the  debates  of  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies ;  and  just  as  the  minds 


248  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

of  Macnulay  and  Sir  Sidney  Smitli  were  inter- 
ested in  some  of  those  rich  and  enthusiastic 
discussions  in  tlie  Foreign  Reviews,  which 
emanated  from  their  pens.  It  is  by  looking  at 
this  matter  as  one  worthy  of  consideration,  and 
by  taking  pai?is  to  feel  that  interest.  Does  it 
cost  thought,  it  must  have  thought ;  does  it 
cost  reading,  it  must  have  reading;  does  it 
cost  great  self-denial,  self-denial  it  must  have  ; 
does  it  cost  conversation  with  men,  or  inter- 
course with  God ;  these  must  not  he  denied. 
Sometimes  it  may  come  over  the  preacher's 
mind,  like  an  unexpected  cloud  in  a  clear  sky, 
and  he  may  feel  its  refreshing  influence ;  but 
for  the  most  part,  it  does  not  visit  him  unsought. 
He  strives  for  it,  because  he  deeply  feels  the 
need  of  it;  he  seeks  it,  because  it  is  given; 
and  he  more  usually  seeks  it  most  earnestly 
and  most  successfully  in  the  seasons  of  his 
greatest  depression. 

We  cannot  but  have  observed  the  various 
degrees  of  interest  which  different  minds  take 
in  the  same  subject  ;  and  which  the  same 
minds  feel  at  different  times.  And  it  is  most 
encouraging  and  gratifying  to  observe  the  high 
degree  of  interest  which  humble  prayer  and 
patient  thought  often  impart.  When  the  mind 
is  earnestly  directed  toward  any  important 
subject;  when  it  is  turned  over  and  over  again 
in  the  thoughts,  and  viewed  on  every  side ; 


PREACHER'S    INTEREST   IN   HIS   SUBJECT.         219 

and  when  investig-ation,  ingenuity,  and  prayer, 
and  unwearied  application  are  devoted  to  it, 
that  it  may  be  seen  in  its  clearest  and  strong- 
est lights,  and  felt  in  its  true  power ;  it  is  ordi- 
narily thus  seen  and  felt.  To  consent  to  feel 
this  interest ;  to  labor  for  it,  and  to  practise 
the  self-denial  w  liich  is  necessary  in  order  to 
cherish  it,  is  never  a  useless  effort.  To  carry 
the  subject  in  our  thoughts  through  the  week, 
or  even  the  weeks  of  preparation ;  to  associate 
it  with  our  toil  and  our  relaxation  ;  to  allow  it 
to  go  out  with  us  when  we  walk,  to  haunt  our 
pillow,  and  creep  unseen  within  the  folds  of 
thought  when  we  sleep  ; — to  wake  wdth  us 
when  we  wake,  and  to  be,  for  the  time,  the 
master  impulse  ;  this  is  it  which  gives  to  the 
preacher's  mind  a  deep  interest  in  his  subject, 
W'hen  he  goes  to  the  sacred  desk. 

These  are  not  unhallowed  views ;  nor  are 
they  designed  to  make  any  appeal  to  the 
preacher's  vanity.  We  do  not  speak  of  inter- 
est in  his  subject  for  the  preacher's  sake,  but 
for  his  subject's  sake.  Nor  do  we  mean  by 
taking  pains  to  feel  this  interest,  a  desperate 
and  agonizing  effort  to  prepare  and  preach  a 
great  sermon  ;  but  so  to  preach  what  God  has 
enabled  him  to  prepare,  that  the  precious 
truths  of  the  Gospel  may  not  be  denuded  of 
their  power  through  the  preacher's  listless- 
ness. 

11* 


250  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

It  is  recorded  of  the  late  Henry  Mowes,  the 
celebrated  Prussian  preacher,  that  a  sermon, 
with  him,  "  was  not  tiie  Avork  of  a  day.  It  was 
not  a  mere  outward  act ;  it  was  an  expression 
of  himself.  It  occupied  the  whole  week.  He 
had  it  almost  daily  in  his  mind.  Often  would 
he  be  found  with  his  first  sketch  before  him, 
with  his  eyes  filled  with  tears."  Here  is  the 
secret  of  good  preaching.  A  listless  week  and 
a  Sabbath  of  interest  are  just  those  things 
which  God  has  not  joined  together.  Spirit- 
uality in  the  pulpit  and  the  want  of  it  in  the 
study  of  the  preacher  never  dwell  together  in 
the  same  bosom.  Ministers  may  not  look  for 
miracles.  The  kingdom  of  grace  does  not  set 
itself  against  the  kingdom  of  providence;  nor 
does  the  Spirit  of  God  in  any  of  his  operations, 
ordinarily  counteract  the  laws  of  man's  intel- 
lectual economy.  The  sovereignty  of  divine 
influences  is  wont  to  put  honor  upon  all  the 
institutions  of  God's  appointment,  both  in  the 
natural  and  spiritual  world. 

The  men  of  the  w  orld  are  absorbed  in  their 
object ;  the  rich  in  their  pursuit  of  gain ;  the 
ambitious  in  their  pursuit  of  power ;  the  lite- 
rary in  their  pursuit  of  fame.  They  are  im- 
mersed in  their  object,  almost  to  madness;  and 
their  burning  zeal  attracts  every  thing  around 
it  to  feed  its  flame.  Tlieir  fiivorite  schemes 
and    projects  are    scarcely   ever   absent   from 


PREACHER'S   INTEREST   IN    HIS    SUBJECT         251 

their  tliouglits.  Now,  it  is  something  like  this 
engag-ediiess,  this  animation  and  earnestness, 
whicli  the  pulpit  needs,  in  order  to  give  it 
power.  The  preacher  must  be  in  earnest ;  he 
must  lose  himself  in  his  subject.  He  must 
have  a  longing,  heart-breaking  desire  to  im- 
press the  truth  he  is  uttering  upon  the  minds 
of  his  hearers. 

Nor  is  it  enough  for  him  to  feel  the  impor- 
tance of  his  subject ;  he  must  feel  its  peculiar- 
ity. I  knew  a  preacher  once,  more  than  twenty 
years  ago,  who  employed  one  entire  week  in 
writing  a  discourse  on  the  words,  "  And  in 
hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment," 
The  fearful  subject  was  not  absent  from  his 
thoughts  an  hour,  till  he  laid  his  head  upon 
his  pillow,  on  the  evening  which  preceded 
the  Lord's  Day.  No,  nor  even  then.  It  was 
a  solemn  week  to  his  own  soul ;  a  solemn 
night ;  but  it  was  a  bright  and  glorious  Sabbath 
which  followed  it.  There  are  those  among 
the  living  who  remember  that  day.  It  will 
be  remembered  in  eternity.  Let  the  preacher 
thus  feel  his  subject;  let  him  feel  it  to  the 
last  hour  of  preparation,  and  the  last  prayer 
he  offers  before  he  enters  the  sanctuary;  and 
he  will  go  to  his  work  under  a  high-born  and 
heavenly  impulse.  When  such  a  preacher 
goes  into  the  pulpit,  he  stands  there  as  the 
dignified,  earnest,  faithful,  affectionate  messen- 


252  Till'-    rO'.VF.R    OK    TUK    PULI'IT. 

ger  of  God,  and  pours  forth  the  fuhiess  of  his 
thouii^lits,  (he  strength  and  ardor  of  his  emotions 
in  some  sort  worthy  of  the  cause  he  advocates. 
He  is  full  of  his  theme  ;  days  and  nights  he 
has  been  thinking  of  it,  and  poring  and  pray- 
ing over  it.  He  is  imbued  with  it ;  what  his 
subject  is,  that  he  is;  he  is  baptized  with  it; 
he  has  the  unction  of  it,  and  it  is  an  unction 
of  the  Holy  One.  Such  preachers  are,  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  phrase,  great  preachei's.  They 
are  great  preachers,  because  it  is  not  they  who 
preach,  but  their  subject ;  it  is  not  they  who 
speak,  so  much  as  Christ  speaking  in  them,  and 
by  them.  The  men  are  little  things ;  their 
subject  every  thing.  They  are  notliing,  Christ 
is  all. 

Every  minister  loves  to  preach  to  an  atten- 
tive auditory.  There  must  be  two  great  con- 
stituent elements  in  the  preacher  himself,  with- 
out which  the  attention  of  his  audience  can- 
not be  secured ;  they  are  the  subject-matter 
of  his  preaching,  and  the  interest  which  he 
himself  takes  in  what  he  utters.  The  late 
Dr.  Emmons  was  once  asked,  by  one  of  his 
brethren.  What  was  the  best  remedy  for  an  inat- 
tentive audience  ?  His  characteristic  reply  was, 
Give  them  something  to  attend  to  !  But  this  is 
not  all.  He  must  feel  his  subject.  It  is  as 
marvellous  as  it  is  mournful,  that  the  weighty 
and   thrilling   truths   of  God's   word   lose   so 


PREACHER'S    INTEREST   IN   HIS    SUBJECT.        253 

much  of  their  force  from  the  little  interest  the 
preacher  himself  feels  in  his  theme.  George 
Whitfield  was  probably  the  most  remarkable 
man,  in  this  respect,  whom  the  world  has  seen.* 
Rich  as  his  discourses  were,  they  do  not  com- 
pare w  itli  the  discourses  of  some  other  preach- 
ers in  richness  of  thought.  But  in  intensity 
of  feeling,  he  had  no  equal.  He  enchained 
his  auditory  by  his  intense  interest  in  his  sub- 
ject. A  ship-carpenter  once  remarked,  that 
"  he  could  usually  build  a  ship  from  stem  to 
stern,  during  the  sermon ;  but  under  Mr.  Whit- 
field he  could  not  lay  a  single  plank."  It  is 
of  themselves  ministers  should  frequently  com- 
plain, rather  than  of  their  hearers  ;  it  is  they 
who  are  cold  and  inanimate.  A  drowsy  pulpit 
makes  an  inattentive  and  drowsy  congregation. 
Let  a  strange  preacher  enter  any  pulpit  in  the 
land,  and  from  the  attentive,  or  inattentive 
habits  of  the  people,  he  will  not  fail  to  form 

*  This  remarkable  man  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Benson.  In  an 
interview  between  the  bishop  and  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  after 
some  earnest  expostulations  on  the  part  of  her  ladyship,  the  bishop 
rose  up  in  great  haste  to  depart,  bitterly  lamenting  that  he  had  ever 
laid  hands  upon  George  Whitfield.  "  My  lord,"  said  the  Countess, 
"  mark  my  words :  when  you  are  on  your  dying  bed,  that  will  be 
one  of  the  few  ordinations  you  will  reflect  upon  with  complacence." 
The  bishop  indeed  verified  her  prediction  ;  for  when  near  his  death, 
he  sent  ten  guineas  to  Mr.  Whitfield  as  a  token  of  regard  and  venera- 
tion, and  begged  to  be  remembered  by  him  in  his  prayers.  The  poet 
laureate,  Southcy,  in  his  Life  of  Wesley  has,  little  to  his  credit,  related 
the  former,  but  suppressed  the  latter  part  of  this  anecdote. 


254  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

some  just  conceptions  of  its  settled  ministry. 
A  prejicluM'  who  feels  jin  interest  in  his  subject 
Avill  ;ihvays  be  listened  to.  His  hearers  may 
not  ])clieve  his  doctrine  ;  they  may  be  cap- 
tious, critical,  fastidious ;  but  they  will  hear.  He 
cannot  have  an  inattentive  auditory ;  the  thing- 
is  impossible.  Few  eyes  will  wander, — few 
minds  Avill  be  listless, — few  hearts  will  be  in- 
dilVcrent.  Those  to  Avhom  he  preaches  may 
complain  ;  they  may  hear  and  hate  ;  but  they 
will  hear.  No  preacher  can  sustain  the  atten- 
tion of  a  people  unless  he  feels  his  subject ; 
nor  can  he  long  sustain  it,  unless  he  feels  it 
deeply.  If  he  would  make  others  solemn,  he 
must  himself  be  solemn ;  he  must  have  fellow- 
ship with  the  truths  he  utters  ;  he  must  preach 
as  though  he  w^ere  under  the  eye  of  God,  and 
as  though  his  ow  n  soul  were  bound  up  in  the 
souls  of  those  w  ho  hear  him.  He  must  preach 
as  though  he  were  in  sight  of  the  cross,  and 
heard  the  groans  of  the  Mighty  Sufferer  of  Cal- 
vary ; — as  though  the  judgment  w  ere  set,  and 
the  books  opened ; — as  though  the  sentence 
w^ere  just  about  to  be  passed  wdiich  decides 
the  destinies  of  men ; — as  though  he  had  been 
looking  into  the  pit  of  despair,  as  w^ell  as 
drawing  aside  the  veil,  and  taking  a  view  of 
the  unutterable  glory.* 

*  "  The  bishops,"  said  George  III.,  "  are  very  jealous  of  such 
men."    When  a  distinguished  prelate  complained  to  liim  of  the  zeal 


PREACHER'S    INTEREST   IN   HIS    SUBJECT.         255 

More  than  this.  He  must  preach  as  though 
eternal  realities  were  susiiended  on  the  passing 
hour.  Tliis  is  a  thought  which  ought  to  be 
deeply  inwoven  with  the  preacher's  views 
and  emotions.  I  have  often  asked  myself, 
why  it  is  that  a  congregation  assembled  for 
the  vvorship  of  God  are,  for  the  most  part,  less 
interested  in  a  discourse  from  the  pulpit,  than 
a  jury  are  interested  in  an  argument  from  the 
bar !  It  is  not  because  the  bar  is  always  more 
eloquent  than  the  pulpit,  though  it  often  is  so ; 
nor  is  it  altogether  because  the  pulpit  speaks 
of  unearthly  things,  and  the  bar  of  things 
earthly.  It  is  mainly  because  the  speaker 
and  the  hearers  in  the  courts  of  law  speak  and 
hear  with  the  view  of  coming  to  a  present  de- 
cision on  the  subject  submitted  to  their  con- 
sideration. This  responsibility  rests  upon  them, 
and  they  may  not  be  listless.  Let  but  the 
thought  be  present  to  the  mind  of  the  preacher 
and  the  hearers,  that  in  the  progress  and  at 
the  close  of  his  discourse  decisions  are  to  be 
made  that  will  affect  the  destiny  of  men,  for 

of  the  ministers  under  the  patronage  of  Lady  Huntingdon,  he  replied, 
"  Make  bishops  of  them  ;  make  bishops  of  them  !"  "  That  might  be 
done,"  rephed  the  prelate,  "  but  we  cannot  make  a  bishop  of  Lady 
Huntingdon."  "  Well,  well,"  said  the  king,  "  see  if  you  cannot  im- 
itate the  zeal  of  these  men ;  as  for  her  ladyship,  you  cannot  make  a 
bishop  of  her,  it  is  true :  it  would  be  a  lucky  circumstance  if  you 
could,  for  she  puts  you  all  to  shame.  I  wish  there  were  a  Lady 
Huntingdon  in  every  diocese  in  the  kingdom." 


25G  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

"weal,  or  for  woe,  through  interminable  ages; 
and  this  listless  hearing,  and  this  insensate 
preaching,  will  exist  no  longer.  I  say,  this 
insensate  preaching,  because,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  observe,  the  people  are  in  ad- 
vance of  their  preachers  in  the  all  important 
duty  of  wakeful  and  interested  attention.  It 
is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  God  is  giving 
men  the  hearing  ear.  They  are  doing  just 
what  they  ought  to  do, — expecting  much  from 
their  ministers;  and  well  it  may  cause  grief 
of  heart  that  it  is  an  expectation  which,  with 
all  their  increased  opportunities,  the  minstry 
of  the  word  does  not  more  frequently  gratify. 
There  is  sin  in  the  pulpit  in  this  matter  :  would 
to  God  that  the  writer  had  not  so  much  cause 
to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth ! 

One  of  the  effects  of  a  due  interest  in  the 
subject-matter  of  the  pulpit  would  be,  the 
happy  influence  it  would  exert  upon  the  elocu- 
tion and  manner  of  the  preacher.  He  Avould 
not  utter  his  discourse  carelessly,  nor  with  the 
rapidity  with  which  a  school-boy  recites  his 
lesson.  He  would  not  become  an  imitator, 
but  utter  God's  truth  in  his  own  way.  There 
is  no  air  of  pretence  about  him ;  no  craving 
after  effect, — no  swelling  accomplishments. 
There  is  earnestness,  but  there  is  simplicity 
and  truth.  The  artificial,  the  studied,  the 
theatrical,  has  little  sympathy  with  that  chast- 


PREACHER'S   INTEREST   IN   HIS   SUBJECT.         257 

ened  feeling-  which  flaws  from  deep  interest 
in  his  subject.  He  may  be  all  action,  and 
will  be  if  it  is  his  nature  to  be  so;*  but  it  is 
possible  he  may  have  very  little  action,  and  yet 
be  a  powerful  preacher.  He  would  come 
down  upon  his  hearers,  sometimes  like  the 
wind ;  sometimes  like  the  earthquake  ;  some- 
times like  the  fire ;  and  sometimes  like  the 
still,  small  voice.  The  elder  Edwards  had  no 
action  at  all ;  yet  such  was  his  interest  in  his 
subject  that  crowded  auditories  burst  into  one 
universal  weeping  under  his  discourses.  Such 
a  preacher  may  not  be  accomplished,  but  he 
will  be  forcible ;  there  may  be  classic  embel- 
lishment, Vviiere  the  heart  is  cold  as  marble. 
He  may  even  be  awkward,  but  if  his  subject 
first  live  in  his  own  heart,  he  will  be  effective. 

*  The  late  Dr.  Stonehouse  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
correct  and  elegant  preachers  in  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain. 
When  he  entered  into  holy  orders,  he  took  occasion  to  profit  by  his 
acquaintance  with  Garrick,  to  procure  from  him  some  valuable  instruc- 
tions in  elocution.  Being  once  engaged  to  read  prayers  and  preach 
in  a  church  in  the  cit}',  he  prevailed  upon  Garrick  to  go  with  him. 
After  the  service,  the  British  Roscius  asked  the  doctor  what  particu- 
lar business  he  had  to  do,  when  the  duty  was  over  ?  "  None,"  said 
the  other.  "  I  thought  you  had,"  said  Garrick,"  on  seeing  you  enter 
the  reading  desk  in  such  a  hurry."  Nothing  can  be  more  indecent 
than  to  see  a  clergyman  "  set  about  his  sacred  business  as  if  he  were 
a  tradesman,  and  go  into  the  church  as  if  he  wanted  to  get  out  of  it 
as  soon  as  possible."  He  next  asked  the  doctor,  "  What  books  he 
had  in  the  desk  before  him  ?"  "Only  the  Bible  and  Prayer-book." 
"  Only  the  Bible  and  Prayer-book,"  replied  the  player ;  "  why  you 
tossed  them  backwards  and  forwards,  and  turned  the  leaves  as  care- 
lessly as  if  they  were  those  of  a  day-book  and  lodger." 


258  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

He  "vvill  not  be  vain,  nor  ambitious  of  distinc- 
tion of  any  sort,  save  to  win  souls.  He  will 
not  go  out  of  his  patli  in  search  of  adornment 
and  flowers;  though  he  may  pick  them  up 
when  they  lie  in  his  way.  He  goes  forth 
weeping,  bearing  precious  seed ;  they  are  the 
sheaves  that  he  is  looking  after,  and  he  brings 
them  home  with  rt^joicing.  If  his  sickle  is 
not  tipped  with  gold,  it  is  of  well-attempered 
steel ;  it  is  like  a  two-edged  sword,  and  he 
uses  it  manfully,  and  as  though  he  was  wield- 
ing the  "  sword  of  the  Spirit." 

The  biographer  of  Archbishop  Leighton  re- 
marks, that  "he  was  too  intent  upon  his  subject 
to  be  choice  of  words  and  phrases ;  and  his 
works  discover  a  noble  carelessness  of  diction, 
w  hich  in  some  respects  enhances  their  beauty. 
His  language  is  better  than  mere  correctness 
w^ould  make  it ;  more  forcible  and  touching ; 
attracting  little  notice  to  itself,  but  leaving  the 
reader  to  the  full  impulse  of  the  ideas  of  which 
it  is  the  vehicle.  It  is  great  by  the  magnifi- 
cence of  thought ;  by  the  spontaneous  emana- 
tion of  a  mind  replete  wdth  sacred  knowledge, 
and  bursting  with  seraphic  affections;  by  that 
pauseless  gush  of  intellectual  splendor,  in  which 
the  outward  shell,  the  intermediate  letter  is 
eclipsed  and  amost  annihilated,  that  full  scope 
may  be  given  to  the  mighty  elfulgence  of  the 
informing  spirit."'    Such  a  preacher  throws  the 


PREACHER'S   INTEREST  IN  HIS   SUBJECT.        259 

ornate  and  scholastic  preacher  into  the  shade. 
He  may  not  be  a  splendid  and  pompous  de- 
claimer;  but  he  is  an  earnest  preacher  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  an  able  minister  of 
the  New  Testament.  He  may  not  tnj  to  be 
eloquent,  but  he  will  ^e eloquent;  his  eloquence 
will  be  thrilling  and  impassioned,  and  tell  on 
the  conscience  and  heart.  Pascal  speaks  of 
"  the  eloquence  that  despises  eloquence  ;"  and 
is  not  this  the  only  true  eloquence  ?  "  Elo- 
quence," says  he,  "  is  a  pictural  representation 
of  thought ;  and  hence  those  who,  after  having 
painted  it,  make  additions  to  it,  give  us  a  fancy 
picture,  but  not  a  portrait."  Let  the  preacher 
utter  that  which  comes  in  contact  with  the 
minds  of  his  hearers,  and  let  him  so  utter  it  as 
to  establish  the  correspondence  between  what 
he  utters  and  what  they  perceive  and  feel ; 
and  so  far  as  human  instrumentality  can  do  it, 
he  will  not  fail  to  carry  the  hearts  of  his  audi- 
tory. This  is  his  object ;  it  is  his  sole  object. 
Like  an  able  and  effective  advocate  at  the  bar, 
who  is  more  intent  on  gaining  the  cause  of  his 
client,  than  on  making  a  pretty  speech,  or  a 
splendid  argument,  he  delivers  himself  to  the 
purpose.  His  obligations  as  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  are  present  to  his  thoughts ;  he  feels 
for  men  who  are  so  soon  to  become  the  tenants 
of  an  unutterable  eternity  ;  and,  like  Paul,  he 
is  "  pressed  in  spirit  to  testify  to  them  that 


260  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

Jesus  is  the  Clirist."  He  does  not  ajfcct  an  in- 
terest in  his  subject  he  does  not  feel ;  he  has 
that  deep  experience  of  God's  truth  which 
teaches  Iiini  how  to  feel  and  how  to  speak. 
He  "  speaks  that  which  he  knows,  and  testifies 
that  which  he  has  seen."  There  is  honesty  in 
his  spirit,  and  nature  in  his  manner ;  and  there- 
fore is  there  impressiveness  and  urgency.  And 
there  is  great  variety,  too.  Sometimes  he  is 
plain  and  argumentative;  sometimes  authori- 
tative ;  in  his  rebukes  sometimes  tender,  and 
sometimes  terrible;  but  more  often  a  weeping 
suppliant,  beseeching  men  to  be  reconciled  to 
God.  This  is  the  highest  style  of  the  pulpit; 
especially  if  the  preacher  have  gifts  as  well  as 
graces,  and  possesses  a  vigorous  and  compre- 
hensive mind.  Men  even  of  ordinary  endow- 
ments, with  such  a  spirit,  are  eflective  preach- 
ers. We  have  known  many  such;  may  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  multiply  them  !  He  him- 
self is  with  such  ministers;  and  when  his  pres- 
ence goes  with  them,  the  pulpit  has  power.  It 
does  execution;  it  saves;  and  where  it  saves 
not,  it  most  fearfully  damns  the  soul.  It  is  this 
that  makes  the  light  of  the  pulpit  shine,  and 
its  ministers  a  flame  of  lire. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

MINISTERS    MUST    BE    MEN    OF    PRAYER. 

An  occasional  remark  has  been  thrown  out 
in  the  preceding  joages,  intimating  the  impor- 
tance of  prayer  in  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
The  thought  is  one  which  may  not  he  passed 
over  thus  lightly. 

The  appropriate  vocation  of  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  is  one  which  has  much  to  do  with  God  ; 
it  is  a  spiritual,  and  not  a  secular  vocation.  His 
own  soul  may  indeed  be  greatly  ensnared  by 
this  very  circumstance ;  he  must  be  familiar  with 
spiritual  things ;  this  is  his  business,  and  he  matj 
be  familiar  with  them  as  a  matter  of  busitiess 
only.  If  it  be  so  with  any  of  us,  we  are  of  all 
men  most  to  be  commiserated ;  because,  "  af- 
ter having  preached  to  others,  we  ourselves 
shall  be  cast  away."  If  it  may  be  said  of  any 
man  in  the  world,  that  he  lives  very  near  to 
heaven,  or  very  near  to  hell,  it  may  be  said  of 
a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  he  is  not  a  pious 
man,  he  is  among  the  most  obdurate  of  the 
wicked  ;  and  though  his  feet  may  stand  on  the 


262  THE   POWER   or   THE   PULPIT. 

highest  mountains  of  Zion,  he  stands  on  slip- 
pery places,  and  shall  slide  in  due  time.  If  he 
is  not  a  man  of  prayer,  he  is  not  a  man  of  God ; 
and  had  hetter  be  anywhere  else,  than  in  the 
pulpit. 

Yet  is  the  thought  a  pleasant  one  to  the  mind 
of  a  good  man,  that  he  is  occupied  in  a  relig- 
ious, and  not  a  worldly  vocation;  and  that  the 
privileges,  as  well  as  the  obligations  of  the 
sacred  ministry,  have  this  great  peculiarity. 
"  We  will  give  ourselves  to  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  word."  This  is  the  law  of  the 
pulpit.  •  Ministers  are  "  laborers  together  with 
God  ;"  and  their  intercourse  with  him  ought  to 
be  unembarrassed  and  intimate.  Their  life  is 
one  of  continual,  and  in  some  respects,  pecul- 
iar dependence  on  him;  and  on  him  their  eye 
ought  to  be  steadily  fixed.  This  is  their  great 
support  and  comfort.  Their  personal  trials  are 
sufficiently  numerous ;  and  if  they  have  not  a 
refuge  in  God,  and  hide  not  beneath  the  shadow 
of  his  wrings,  the  Comforter  is  far, — far  away. 
To  no  class  of  men  is  the  thought  more  wel- 
come and  precious,  that  God  is  their  friend, 
than  to  the  trembling  heart  and  jaded  mind 
of  his  ministers.  "  More  is  he  that  is  for  us, 
than  they  that  are  against  us !"  Who  better 
than  they,  know  how  to  appreciate  the  inviting 
summons,  "  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into 
thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee ; 


MINISTERS   MUST   BE   MEN   OF   PRAYER.  263 

hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  un- 
til the  indignation  be  overpast."  Who  more 
than  they,  have  need  to  appropriate  the  pro- 
mise, "  For  in  the  time  of  trouble,  he  shall  hide 
me  in  his  pavilion ;  in  the  secret  of  his  taber- 
nacle shall  he  hide  me  ;  he  shall  set  me  upon  a 
rock." 

But  these  are  not  the  precise  thoughts  which 
we  desire  here  to  enforce.  We  speak  rather 
of  that  intercourse  which  ministers  have  with 
God,  as  his  commissioned  servants,  sent  by 
him  to  perform  a  great  work,  and  one  in  which 
they  constantly  need  his  assistance  and  direc- 
tion. We  would  fain  urge  upon  ourselves  and 
our  fellow-laborers,  that  delightful  habit  of 
prayer,  in  the  cultivation  of  which  the  com- 
missioned servants  of  God  go  to  him  under 
every  exigency,  and  in  which  there  is  such  an 
exceeding  great  reward. 

There  are  ministers  who  are  by  no  means 
slothful,  and  who  possess  a  deep  interest  in 
their  work,  Avho  yet  labor  to  very  little  pur- 
pose, because  their  time  is  not  jyi'ofitablij  em- 
ployed. Their  course  of  reading  and  study  is 
not  so  useful  to  them,  as  preachers,  as  it  might 
be  ;  and  their  out-door  labor  is  not  always  so 
arranged  as  to  subserve  the  pulpit.  In  this 
matter  they  need  to  be  directed  by  wisdom 
that  is  from  above,  and  should  seek  that  direc- 
tion as  constantly  as  they  ask  for  their  daily 


264  THE  POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

bread.  Youdifiil  ministers  especially,  are  not 
always  sensible  of  the  importance  of  so  em- 
ploying their  time,  and  arranging  their  labor  as 
to  accomplish  the  most  for  the  cause  of  God 
and  the  souls  of  men.  Yet  this  is  their  great 
object;  and  in  the  prosecution  of  it,  they  must 
just  submit  themselves  to  a  heavenly  guidance. 
In  their  selection  of  subjects  also  for  the  in- 
struction of  their  people,  ministers  are  often 
most  uriwise,  and  expend  no  small  amount  of 
strength  to  very  little  effect.  I  have  heard 
many  a  discourse  which  produced  the  impres- 
sion on  my  own  mind,  that  if  the  same  amount 
of  thought  and  labor  had  been  bestowed  on  a 
more  useful  topic,  the  preacher  uould  have 
better  answ  ered  the  expectation  of  his  hear- 
ers, and  the  great  object  of  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel. There  is  not  a  little  preaching,  which, 
from  this  cause  alone,  profits  no  one ;  it  is  not 
to  edification.  While  listening  to  it,  an  intel- 
ligent and  devout  hearer  can  scarcely  help  say- 
ing within  himself,  What  then  ? — w  hat  if  it  is 
all  as  you  say  ? — what  good  comes  of  all  this  ? 
Do  we  say  more  than  w^e  are  warranted  in 
saying,  when  we  express  the  fear  that  too 
many  preachers  select  their  subjects  "  without 
asking  counsel  of  God  ?"  It  is  no  small  relief, 
in  prosecuting  his  studies  for  the  Aveek,  for  a 
minister  to  have  the  consciousness  that  his  Di- 
vine Master  approves  his  w  ork,  and  that  the 


MINISTERS   MUST   BE  MEN   OP   PRAYER.  265 

discourse  lie  is  preparing  is  upon  a  topic  which 
has  been  assigned  liim,  and  given  him  in  an- 
swer to  prayer.  Nay,  there  is  confidence ; 
there  is  courage  and  hope  ;  there  is  joy ;  his 
own  mind  is  stimulated  by  the  thought,  nor 
does  the  sacred  excitement  pass  away  until  he 
has  delivered  himself  of  the  burden,  and  his 
appointed  message  is  made  known. 

More  than  this.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing 
for  the  preacher  to  be  greatly  embarrassed  in  the 
choice  of  his  subject ;  the  embarrassment  is  not 
unfrequently  a  serious  one,  and  occasions  loss 
of  time  and  effort.  Sometimes  it  arises  from 
the  poverty  of  his  own  resources ;  sometimes 
from  the  difficulty  of  deciding  between  the 
conflicting  claims  of  more  subjects  than  one ; 
and  sometimes  from  the  sluggish  operations  of 
his  own  mind.  It  is  often  a  profitable  embar- 
rassment to  the  preacher,  and  constitutes  a 
part  of  that  intellectual  and  spiritual  discipline, 
by  which  he  is  made  a  better  man  and  a  better 
minister.  By  it  he  is  taught  to  think,  and  feel, 
and  pray,  and  is  brought  to  a  deeper  sense  of 
his  own  littleness.  He  learns  to  have  recourse 
to  the  Master  who  sent  him ;  and  he  finds  it 
available.  The  promise  is  good,  "If  any  man 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  Avho  giveth 
liberally  and  without  upbraiding."  The  wri- 
ter has  now  in  his  thoughts  a  youthful  minister 

of  Christ,  who  had  occupied  almost  an  entire 

12 


2GG  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

day  in  scarcliiiii^  for  a  subject  for  the  following' 
Sabbath,  lie  had  sought  direction  apparently 
in  vain  ;  he  had  turned  over  page  after  page 
in  the  Bible ;  he  had  inspected  his  common- 
place-book; and  could  find  no  subject  in  which 
he  felt  sufficient  interest  to  induce  him  to  se- 
lect it  as  the  topic  of  his  forthcoming  discourse. 
His  mind  was  depressed ;  he  felt  as  though  he 
could  never  write  another  sermon,  and  doubted 
his  fitness  for  the  ministry.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  day,  he  fell  again  on  his  knees,  and  the 
first  sentence  he  uttered  was,  "  O  Lord,  I  am 
as  a  beast  before  thee  !"  The  thought  he  had 
uttered  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind, 
and  at  the  close  of  his  prayer,  he  turned  to  his 
folded  manuscript,  and  began  a  discourse  from 
that  passage  in  the  seventy-third  Psalm  :  "So 
foolish  was  I  and  ignorant,  I  was  as  a  beast 
before  thee  !"  God  had  heard  the  voice  of 
supplication.  We  have  no  doubt  that  this  is 
substantially  the  history  of  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  some  of  the  most  profitable  discourses 
that  are  ever  preached.  We  who  ought  to  know 
so  much  of  God  know  very  little  of  his  bounty ; 
very  little  of  his  faithfulness  and  condescen- 
sion as  a  prayer-hearing  God.  We  too  often 
pray  as  though  we  thought  him  unwilling  to 
give.     What  amazing  words  are  those, — "  O 

THOU  THAT  HEAREST    PRAYER  !"       SubjCCts  that 

are  thus  given  in  answer  to  prayer,  ought  al- 


MINISTERS   MUST   BE   MEN   OP   PRAYER.  267 

ways  to  be  accepted,  be  the  subsequent  labor 
they  cost  what  it  may.  God  is  pleased  that  we 
should  ask,  and  pleased  when  we  accept  and 
employ  his  gifts.  He  will  continue  to  give,  if 
we  furnish  this  proof  of  our  honesty  in  asking. 
Still  further.  The  same  spirit  of  prayer  should 
attend  us  in  the  preparation  of  our  discourses, 
as  in  selecting  the  subjects  of  them.  If  we 
are  not  satisfied  with  the  method  and  arrange- 
ment of  our  thoughts,  or  if  we  are  not  satisfied 
with  a  page  we  have  written ;  let  us  betake 
ourselves  to  our  knees  till  we  are  satisfied. 
Let  us  not  only  think  out  our  subject,  but  pray 
it  out.  Those  views  of  divine  truth  which  are 
enjoyed  under  the  influence  of  prayer  are  very 
different  from  those  in  which  prayer  has  no 
part.  Without  prayer,  even  the  more  spiritual 
truths  will  be  very  apt  to  be  studied  as  a  sci- 
ence merely,  and  our  increasing  acquaintance 
with  them  will  not  minister  to  our  spirituality; 
with  it,  we  shall  acquaint  ourselves  more  with 
the  adorable  and  ever-blessed  God,  and  with 
every  view  of  him  shall  sink  in  the  dust  before 
him,  and  make  his  service  our  joy.  It  is  not 
the  view  of  the  naked  eye  that  discovers  God's 
truth  in  its  beauty ;  it  is  the  view  taken  through 
the  telescope  of  prayer,  in  which  distant  objects 
are  brought  near  and  magnified.  "  Things  un- 
seen elsewhere  are  seen  at  the  mercy-seat,  and 
in  new  aspects,  and  new  beauty  and  loveliness. 


268  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

They  stand  out  in  their  celestial  brightness ; 
they  cluster  like  the  stars  in  tlie  milky-way ; 
the  deliii^hted  eye  dwells  upon  them,  the  swell- 
ing bosom  feels  them,  and  when  we  speak  of 
them  it  is  with  glowing  lips.  We  have  often 
read  of  those  who  studied  the  Bible  upon  their 
knees.  Would  not  our  sermons  be  more  appro- 
priate and  effective,  if  more  elaborate  with 
prayer  ?  W  ould  not  the  weak  parts  of  them 
be  stronger,  tlie  barren  more  rich,  the  cold 
more  ardent,  the  objurgatory  more  persuasive, 
and  the  whole  more  pungent  and  faithful,  were 
it  more  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  prayer? 

Nor  is  this  all.  If  from  the  toil  of  the  study 
we  advert  to  the  devotio?ial  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, what  minister  will  venture  upon  them 
without  prayer  ?  For  every  part  of  this  public 
service,  the  spirit  produced  at  the  mercy-seat  is 
a  qualification  that  is  absolutely  indispensable  ; 
but  in  no  one  thing  are  ministers  more  deficient 
than  in  the  devoiioiial  exercises  of  God's  house. 
We  sometimes  listen  to  prayers  from  the  pul- 
pit which  are  absolutely  chilling :  they  have 
no  connection  of  thought,  and  no  spirituality  of 
feeling.  While  listening  to  them,  they  seem  to 
us  to  partake  very  little  of  the  character  of  re- 
ligious worship :  were  there  no  relief  from  such 
prayers,  wgp' would  gladly  take  refuge  in  the 
formularies  of  an  established  liturgy. 

We  are  no  advocates  for  forms  of  prayer  in  the 


MINISTERS    MUST   BE   MEN   OF   PRAYER.  269 

pulpit :  the  Scriptures  set  us  a  different  example. 
The  nature  of  the  service  itself  requires  a  more 
spontaneous  and  free,  and  full,  and  varied  ex- 
pression of  Christian  feeling  than  any  forms  can 
furnish.  Piety  itself  very  often  requires  the 
free  and  spontaneous  expression  of  a  full  and 
gushing  heart.  Those  who  are,  on  principle, 
most  attached  to  forms,  are  not  unfrequently 
constrained  to  lay  them  aside.  Archbishop 
Seeker,  when  laid  on  his  couch  with  a  broken 
thigh,  was  visited  at  Lambeth,  by  Mr.  Talbot, 
the  vicar  of  St.  Giles,  in  Reading,  who  had 
lived  in  great  intimacy  with  him,  and  received 
his  preferment  from  him.  "  You  will  pray  for 
me,  Talbot,"  says  the  Archbishop,  during  the 
interview.  Mr.  Tabot  rose  and  went  to  look 
for  a  prayer-book.  "  That  is  not  tvhat  I  want 
now,"  said  the  dying  prelate  ;  "  kneel  down  by 
me,  and  2^^'ay  for  me  in  the  way  I  know  you  are 
used  to  do;''  with  which  command  this  zealous 
man  of  God  complied,  and  prayed  earnestly 
from  his  heart  for  his  dying  friend,  whom  he 
saw  no  more.  An  instance  of  Episcopal  candor 
like  this  is  well  worth  recording.  Grace  is 
stronger  than  forms,  and  in  the  time  of  need 
must  have  utterance  in  its  own  way.  A  most 
beautiful  sight  is  this, — a  devout  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England  kneeling  at  the  bedside 
of  the  dying  Primate,  and  at  his  request  offer- 
ing an  extemporaneous  prayer  in  the  Archbish- 


270  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

op's  palace  at  Lambeth!  There  is  no  need  of 
argument  in  favor  of  s})()ntaneous  prayer,  after 
tliis.  A  rich  and  spiritual  prayer,  coming'  from 
the  well-furnished  mind  and  glowing  heart  of 
the  preacher,  forms  one  of  the  great  excellen- 
cies of  our  own  directory  for  religious  worship. 
We  have  on  one  occasion,  and  in  accommoda- 
tion to  the  usage  of  the  place,  publicly  made 
use  of  the  forms  of  prayer  of  our  Episcopal 
brethren :  but  it  was  new  wine, — the  old  is 
better.  We  greatly  prefer  our  own  usages. 
These  spontaneous  devotional  exercises  with 
us  decide  the  character  of  the  whole  service. 
We  know  how^  a  minister  will  preach,  after 
we  have  heard  him  pray.  Never  shall  I  forget 
some  prayers  I  have  listened  to  during  seasons 
when  God  was  pouring  out  his  spirit  upon  the 
church  of  which  I  was  a  member  before  I  be- 
came a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Often  have  I 
felt  since,  that  these  services  are  the  most  re- 
sponsible and  most  dilficult  part  of  a  minister's 
duty.  Oh,  the  trembling  of  heart  which  some- 
times comes  upon  us  when  we  stand  up  to  ad- 
dress the  Infinite  God  !  Our  hearers,  for  the 
most  part,  tliiidv  little  of  this  part  of  our  pub- 
lic duty ;  but  once  let  the  most  devout  and 
most  intelligent  of  them  ascend  the  sacred 
desk,  and  spread  forth  his  hands  to  pray,  and 
he  wall  at  least  have  some  sympathy  with  those 
on  whom  this  solemn  responsibility  is  devolved. 


MINISTERS   MUST   BE   MEN   OF   PRAYER.  271 

And  where  do  they  learn  to  pray,  but  in  habit- 
ual and  intimate  fellowship  ^vitli  C4od,  in  the 
secret  of  his  presence  ?  It  is  by  praying,  that 
we  learn  to  pray.  No  matter  how  much  we 
have  otherwise  learned  ;  if  we  have  not  sweet 
and  happy  intercourse  with  God  in  our  closets, 
the  lesson  is  forgotten.  But  there  is  a  halo  of 
glory  around  the  mercy-seat,  in  the  midst  of 
which  it  is  impossible  long  to  remain  in  secret, 
without  reflecting  its  radiance  when  we  stand 
in  the  presence  of  the  "  great  congregation." 

If  from  the  devotional  part  of  the  service, 
we  turn  to  what  is  more  properly  its  instruc- 
tions, there  is  not  a  devout  minister  in  the 
world  but  would  bear  testimony,  that  there  is 
no  preparative  for  preaching  like  that  which  is 
made  in  his  closet.  Nowhere  else  will  his 
mind  become  so  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his 
errand  ;  or  so  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of 
the  Divine  presence  ;  or  so  touched  with  love  to 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men.  Whence 
too,  comes  that  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  renders  the  truth  powerful,  but  from  the 
same  exhaustless  source  ?  No  minister  has  done 
his  utmost  to  give  power  to  the  pulpit,  Avho 
has  not  tried  the  power  of  prayer.  Shame  on 
us  that  our  preaching  is  so  powerless,  when 
God  has  said,  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive  !"  Is 
it  so,  that  we  may  always  go  into  the  pulpit 
fully  furnished  for  our   work,   and    have   the 


272  THE  POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

Spirit  of  our  Master  with  us,  simply  for  the  ask- 
ing, and  shall  we  ever  go  alone  ? 

It  was  a  terrible  reproof  to  men  of  other  times, 
"  There  is  none  that  ealleth  upon  thy  name, 
that  stirreth  up  himself  to  take  hold  of  thee."  It 
is  indeed  a  wondrous  thought,  that  worms  of 
the  dust  may  thus  have  free  access  to  God,  and 
are  actually  rebuked  for  not  "  stirring  up  them- 
selves" to  take  hold  on  him.  There  are  no 
discouragements  in  our  work  when  we  can  go 
to  God's  throne.  We  need  be  careful  for  noth- 
ing, if  "  with  a  true  heart  and  full  assurance 
of  faith,"  we  can  come  near  even  to  his  seat  and 
fill  our  matuth  with  arguments.  We  may,  in- 
deed, often  go  with  heaviness,  but  we  shall 
often  come  away  with  tranquillity  and  joy.  We 
may  go  as  slaves,  but  we  shall  find  our  chains 
knocked  off  there,  and  have  the  liberty  of  chil- 
dren. We  may  fear  and  tremble ;  we  may 
agonize ;  but  we  shall  prevail.  Jacob,  as  a 
prince,  wrestled  with  the  Angel  of  the  Cove- 
nant, and  had  power  with  God.  O  what  an  il- 
lustration of  the  power  of  j^rayer  was  that ! 
Let  me  go  f  let  me  go  !  No,  no,  7  ivill  not  let 
thee  go  ;  I  will  not  let  thee  go  unless  thou  bless  me  ! 
How  little  do  we  know  of  the  power  of  prayer ! 
a  power  to  which  even  the  power  of  God  con- 
descends to  be  subjected,  and  which  divides 
with  him  the  government  of  the  world  !  Others 
may  think  as  they  will ;  but  for  ourselves,  we 


MINISTERS   MUST   BE   MEN   OP   PRAYER.  273 

cannot  reconcile  the  form  of  prayer,  with  the 
power  of  prayer.  Just  think  of  Jacob  reading- 
from  a  prayer-book,  when  he  wrestled  with 
the  x\ngel  of  the  Covenant;  or  Elijah  when  he 
bowed  his  knees  on  the  mount !  It  lessens  its 
power  just  in  the  measure  in  which  it  depends 
on  form.  The  atmosphere  of  prayer  is  not  that 
factitious  atmosphere  which  is  evolved  by  the 
screws  of  a  printing  press.  Where  the  heart 
feels  deeply,  and  prays  eifectively,  it  throws 
away  its  forms ;  it  has  desires  of  its  own  and 
must  express  them. 

We  scarcely  know"  what  different  men,  what 
different  ministers,  we  should  be,  did  we  know 
more  of  the  power  of  prayer.  We  should  see  in 
God's  light,  labor  in  his  strength,  repose  in  his 
love,  be  filled  from  his  fulness,  reflect  his  glory, 
live  in  and  for  him.  He  who  hears  the  young 
ravens  when  they  cry,  would  not  shut  his  ear 
against  us  when  we  go  at  his  bidding  and  on 
his  errand.  When  Moses  complained  that  he 
was  "  slow  of  speech,  and  of  a  slow  tongue," 
his  Maker  replied  to  him,  "  Who  made  man's 
mouth  ?  Now  therefore  go  ;  I  will  be  with  thy 
mouth,  and  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt  say !" 
We  may  be  compassed  about  with  infirmi- 
ties ;  but  "  with  the  petition  in  one  hand,  and 
the  promise  in  the  other,"  we  may  be  "  strong 
in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might." 

It  is  narrated  in  the  life  of  Andrew  Fuller, 

12* 


274  THE   rOWER  OF  THE    PULPIT. 

that  at  a  meeting  of  several  very  distinc:iiislied 
ministers  at  Northtinipton,  the  question  was  dis- 
cussed very  much  at  lengtli,  "  To  what  causes, 
in  ministers  themselves,  may  much  of  their 
want  of  success  be  imputed  ?"  The  answer 
"  turned  chiefly  upon  tlieir  want  of  personal  re- 
ligion ;  particularly  the  neglect  of  close  dealing 
with  God  in  closet  prayer T  The  probability  is, 
that  every  collection  of  judicious  and  godly 
ministers  would  come  to  the  same  conclusion. 
The  prophet  seems  to  express  the  same  thought 
when  he  says,  "  Their  pastors  have  become 
brutish;  they  have  not  sought  the  Lord ;  there- 
fore they  shall  not  prosper,  and  their  flocks  shall 
be  scattered."  The  time  was,  when  the  pas- 
tors of  the  American  churches  valued  the  priv- 
ilege of  prayer.  They  were  not  only  men  of 
prayer,  but  they  prayed  often  for  and  with  one 
another;  their  reciprocal  and  fraternal  visits 
were  consecrated  and  sweetened  by  prayer; 
nor  was  it  any  unusual  thing  for  them  to  employ 
days  of  fasting  and  prayer  together  for  the  effu- 
sions of  God's  Spirit  upon  themselves  and  tlieir 
churches.  And  they  were  days  of  power; 
days  when  God's  arm  was  made  bare,  and  his 
right  hand  plucked  out  of  his  bosom.  Nor  was 
it  difficult  to  see,  then,  wherein  the  great 
strength  of  the  pulpit  lies;  "  he  that  was  feeble 
among  them  was  as  David,  and  the  house  of 
David  was  as  God." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE    I'ERSONAL    PIETY    OF    MINISTERS. 

TfiEKE  is  no  topic  on  which  the  writer  ad- 
dresses his  bretliren  in  the  ministry,  either 
young  or  old,  with  more  reluctance  and  shame- 
facedness,  than  that  which  is  here  indicated. 
Yet  much  as  he  is  constrained  to  fill  his  own 
bosom  with  reproach,  and  humbling  as  lie  fore- 
sees his  reflections  must  be  at  every  step,  he 
may  not  forego  what  he  hopes  may  be  deemed 
some  appropriate  thoughts  on  a  subject  so  vital 
to  the  power  of  the  pulpit.  The  most  discour- 
aging, yet  most  impulsive  thought,  in  attempt- 
ing to  perform  this  service,  is,  that  in  no  part 
of  the  present  volume  does  he  rebuke  the 
meanest  of  all  God's  servants  with  the  same 
severity  with  which  he  feels  he  must  adminis- 
ter rebuke  to  his  own  soul. 

It  was  a  very  bold  and  presumptuous  thing 
on  his  part,  when  as  a  young  man,  and  but  just 
entering  on  the  third  year  of  his  ministry,  he 
ventured  to  instruct  his  fellow-men  by  some 
published  "Essays  on  the  Distinguishing  Traits 


276  THE   POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT. 

of  Cliristian  Cliarncter."  Almost  forty  years  in 
the  ministry  have  tauiiht  liim  that  youtli  and 
inexperience  can  write  more  ilippantly  on  such 
a  theme  tlian  maturer  years,  deeper  retrospec- 
tion, and  a  more  varied,  if  not  more  doiil)tfiil, 
experience. 

It  does  not  require  much  discernment  to  see, 
that  if  one  would  he  an  effective  preacher  he 
must  he  a  pious  man.  He  may  indeed  occupy 
the  place  of  a  minister,  and  do  some  good  in 
the  world,  and  be  destitute  of  piety.  God  may 
restrain  him  from  overt  sins ;  his  religious  ed- 
ucation and  enlightened  conscience,  his  habits 
of  application,  and  his  intellectual  orthodoxy 
may  accomplish  something  toward  supplying 
the  deficiencies  of  imparted  grace.  His  love 
for  moral  disquisition  may  give  him  an  interest 
in  his  appropriate  work ;  his  attainments  as  a 
scholar,  and  his  power  over  the  minds  of  men 
as  a  teacher,  may  render  his  work  pleasant ; 
while  his  pride  of  character,  if  he  is  a  hypo- 
crite, and  his  false  hopes,  if  he  is  a  self-deluded 
man,  may  give  a  buoyancy  to  his  mind  which 
shall  induce  him  to  fulfil  his  ministry  to  the 
last.  Yet  all  the  while  he  may  live  and  die  an 
ungodly  man.  His  church  may  mourn  over 
him  when  he  sleeps  in  the  dust;  his  fellow-la- 
borers in  the  work  of  God  may  stand  aroimd 
his  grave,  and  say,  "  Alas,  my  brother !"  and 
many  an  lionest  panegyric  may  be  uttered  in 


THE  PERSONAL  PIETY  OF  MINISTERS.  277 

commemoration  of  his  fidelity,  while  he  him- 
self is  "  lifting  up  his  eyes  in  hell,  heing-  in  tor- 
ment!" He  has  appeared  in  the  presence  of 
his  Judge,  and  uttered  that  last  plea  of  a  for- 
lorn hope,  "  Have  I  not  prophesied  in  thy  name  V 
hut  he  has  received  the  final  answer,  "  I  never 
knew  you  ;  depart  from  me,  thou  worker  of  in- 
iquity !" 

If  we  should  say  we  weep  while  we  thus 
write,  perhaps  tliere  are  those  who  would  not 
sympathize  with  us.  Yet  who  Avould  not 
weep  ?  Oh,  is  there  one  of  all  the  race  of  Ad- 
am more  to  be  pitied  than  sucli  a  minister  ? 
With  its  "  poison  drop  of  scorn "  he  must 
drain  the  cup  of  agony,  and  taste  all  the  bitter- 
ness of  death.  He  has  saved  others  ;  himself 
he  could  not  save  !  Through  that  very  instru- 
mentality by  which  his  mind  has  become 
blinded,  and  his  heart  hardened,  and  liis  eter- 
nal doom  aggravated,  others  have  been  brought 
into  the  kingdom,  while  their  own  once  beloved 
minister  is  justly  cast  out  into  outer  darkness, 
Avhere  there  is  weeping,  and  wailing,  and 
gnashing  of  teeth  !  He  who  wept  over  Jerusa- 
lem, I  am  sure,  were  he  on  earth,  would  weep 
over  such  a  man.  Could  angels  weep,  they 
Avould  flood  the  pulpit  of  such  a  man  with  tears. 
None,  none  but  the  sturdiest  devil,  could  be 
indiiferent  to  such  a  doom.  Yet  have  there 
been,  and  are,  such  ministers.      Oh  that  we 


278  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

might  be  more  faithful  to  our  own  souls!  that 
we  might  be  more  faithful  to  one  another,  love 
one  another  more,  and  pray  for  one  another, 
lest  we  also  come  to  that  place  of  torment !  It 
is  a  sacred  oftice  which  the  ambassador  of  the 
cross  holds  ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  it  A^  Inch 
will  save  him  from  hell. 

The  evidences  of  piety  in  ministers  are  the 
same  as  in  other  men ;  they  know  w  hat  they 
are,  and  lieed  only  the  same  self-inspection  and 
scrutiny  which  they  urge  upon  those  who  hear 
them.  God  does  not  always  give  them  that 
consciousness  of  a  filial  spirit,  and  that  full  as- 
surance of  hope  which  are  frequently  enjoyed 
by  private  Christians.  They  have  ordinarily 
less  embarrassment  in  their  views  of  his  truth 
than  private  Christians,  but  more  spiritual  dai'k- 
ness.  Now  and  then  their  consciousness  of 
love  to  the  Saviour  is  absolute,  their  path  is  all 
radiance  and  joy,  and  their  step  firm  and  strong 
toward  the  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens.  In  the  strength  of  such  a  faith 
they  go  many  days,  and  even  after  the  noonday 
brightness  is  past,  and  the  sun  of  hope  gone 
down,  the  twilight  lingers  long,  and  as  in  the 
frigid  zone,  sometimes  mingles  itself  with  the 
blushing  dawn.  Yet  is  it  no  uncommon  thing 
for  them  to  pursue  their  toil  under  great  doubts 
of  the  genuineness  of  their  own  religion ;  and 
if  you  were  to  ask  them,  at  the  close  of  some 


THE   PERSONAL   PIETY  OF   MINISTERS.  279 

of  the  most  impressive  discourses  they  ever 
preach,  if  they  had  made  their  own  calling  and 
election  sure,  they  miglit  only  tell  you  they 
have  hoped  it  is  well  w  ith  them  ;  or  they  might 
be  silent ;  or  they  might  he  pensive,  and  turn 
away  to  seek  some  secret  place  of  prayer.  Yet 
they  toil  on,  usefully,  and  often  cheerfully,  in 
seed-time  and  in  harvest,  through  storms  and 
sunshine,  on  the  Sabbath  and  during  the  w^eek, 
under  the  busy  noon  and  silent  midnight,  sat- 
isfied of  the  truths  of  God's  holy  word,  with  a 
firm  and  unshaken  belief  that  there  is  a  way  in 
which  he  can  safely  and  honorably  show  mercy, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  so  deeply  sensible  of 
their  own  ill-desert,  and  the  excellence  of  his 
justice,  that  they  leave  the  event  in  his  hands, 
resolving  only  to  labor  on  and  finish  the  work 
which  he  has  given  them  to  do.  Paul's  state 
of  mind  was  different ;  his  religion  was  bright- 
er ;  his  faith  in  the  great  propitiation  was  stron- 
ger, and  his  hopes  more  cloudless.  Yet  do 
ministers  often  need  such  a  discipline  as  this, 
to  constrain  them  to  walk  humbly  before  God 
and  the  world. 

True  piety  is  its  own  evidence  wherever  it 
exists  in  the  soul.  There  is  something  in  it 
which  is  so  totally  different  from  all  sinful  prin- 
ciples and  affections,  that  it  is  the  proper  object 
of  consciousness.  If  a  man  loves  Jesus  Christ 
more  than  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children, 


280  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

or  lioiiscs,  or  luiids,  or  ovni  Ins  OAvn  life  ;  the 
chaiiije  ill  liis  anbctioiis,  from  w  hat  he  was  by 
nature,  is  such  as  to  be  perceived.  The  reason 
wliy  this  ])erceptioR  is  not  always  distinct  and 
strong,  is,  that  these  gracious  affections  fire  so 
embarrassed  by  the  remains  of  moral  corruption. 
When  we  feel  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  so  fre- 
quently offend  the  Saviour,  as  we  do;  we  can- 
not help  fearing  that  we  have  never  given  him 
the  first  place  in  our  hearts.  We  may  have 
the  fullest  conviction  of  the  truth,  that  in- 
dwelling sin  does  not  destroy  the  evidence  of 
imparted  grace ;  yet  where  it  is  strong,  in  de- 
fiance of  this  conviction,  the  existence  of  gra- 
cious affections  is  discovered  with  difficulty, 
and  the  evidence  of  a  gracious  state  is  propor- 
tionably  obscure.  It  is  a  truth  of  God's  word, 
that  one  act  of  true  faith  in  Christ,  constitutes 
a  Christian.  But  what  is  true  in  theory,  we 
are  not  always  able  to  perceive  to  be  true  in 
our  own  experience.  The  voice  of  the  "  in- 
ward Avitness"  may  be  confused,  and  over- 
powered, and  even  silenced  by  the  clamors  of 
other  inward  and  out\^ard  witnesses,  which 
conflict  with  this  almost  forgotten  conscious- 
ness, so  that  the  comforts  of  it  are  "  few  and 
far  between,"  and  the  light  of  hope  is  almost 
extinguished  by  the  oppressive  darkness.  I 
repeat  the  thought,  the  truth  is  a  precious  one, 
that  one  act  of  supreme  love  to  Jesus,  and  one 


THE   PERSONAL   PIETY  OF   MINISTERS.  281 

act  of  saving  faith  in  him,  constitutes  the  Chris- 
tian ;  but  it  is  a  pregnant  and  prolific  truth, 
and  no  abortion.  Save  the  thief  on  the  cross, 
there  is  no  recorded  fact  in  the  Scriptures, 
which  warrants  the  conviction,  that  it  is  ever 
found  alone.  It  is  a  tree  in  bearing;  and  on 
its  branches  hang  every  Christian  grace  and 
moral  virtue.  Repentance  is  pendant  with  the 
weight  of  sin,  and  bright  with  the  dew-drops 
of  godly  sorrow.  Humility  and  meekness  are 
there,  those  sweet  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  There 
is  the  charity  which  seeketh  iKit  her  own,  and 
is  the  bond  of  perfectness,  blushing  like  the 
rose  of  Sharon  and  the  lily  of  the  valleys,  send- 
ing forth  its  fragrance  upon  this  desert  world. 
It  is  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers,  whose  fruit 
does  not  wither,  and  whose  leaf  does  not  fade. 
It  is  a  growing  grace,  and  though  not  the  uni- 
form, the  infallible  pledge  of  persevering  and 
increasing  holiness.  The  kingdom  of  God  is 
"As  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  into  the  ground, 
and  should  sleep,  and  rise  night  and  day,  and 
the  seed  should  spring  up  and  grow,  he  knovv^- 
eth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth 
fruit  of  herself,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear, 
then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  It  is  not  one 
grace  therefore,  that  we  must  seek  after,  as 
evidence  of  piety,  but  every  grace. 

"  Be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation : 
because  it  is  written, — Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am 


282  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

holy."  We  liave  much  to  do  with  holiness  in 
the  abstract :  would  that  we  possessed  more 
of  it  in  our  own  hearts!  Ministers  have  pecul- 
iar opportunities  and  means  of  a  growing  con- 
formity to  God,  because  they  are  familiar  with 
his  truth ;  because  their  views  of  it  are  often 
so  strong  and  clear;  and  because  their  voca- 
tion is  such,  that  the  motives  to  this  conformity, 
in  all  their  variety  and  force,  are  so  often  pres- 
ent to  their  minds.  There  is  nothinc:  which 
increases  the  obligations  of  men  to  be  holy, 
and  which  lays  these  bonds  upon  them  in  all 
their  strength  and  tenderness,  but  is  experien- 
ced in  the  work  of  a  Christian  minister.  They 
greatly  delight  in  those  clear,  connected,  and 
comprehensive  views  of  God's  truth,  which 
they  so  often  enjoy ;  but  should  they  not  more 
often  be  humbled  under  the  reflection,  that, 
"  to  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doetli 
it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin  ?"  Though  inhabitants 
of  this  low  earth,  they  dwell  in  regions  of  light ; 
they  inhabit  its  mountain  summits,  where  the 
sun  shines  bright  and  clear  when  clouds  and 
darkness  rest  upon  the  valleys  below.  God 
expects  that  his  ministers  should  be  holy  men. 
"  Be  ye  clean  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the 
Lord !"  Holiness  to  the  Lord  was  inscribed  in 
deep  and  legible  lines  on  Aaron's  forehead. 
Ministers  expect  holiness  of  themselves;  the 
Church  of  God  expects  it  of  them ;   the  world 


THE   PERSONAL    PIETY    OF   MINISTERS.  283 

that  lietli  in  wickedness  is  disappointed  unless 
it  discovers  in  tliem  a  piety  that  is  both  gen- 
uine and  eminent.* 

For  reasons  just  suggested,  genuine  piety  in 
ministers  will  be,  for  the  most  part,  above  the 
ordinary  measure  of  piety  in  other  men.  They 
dwell  nearer  the  sources  and  springs  of  it ;  and 
if  they  drink  not  of  them,  can  they  say  in  truth, 
"  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God  ?"  A  man  who 
spends  his  life  in  the  contemplation  and  study 
of  things  that  are  unseen  and  eternal,  must 
have  one  of  two  very  opposite  characters.  If 
his  contemplations  be  devout,  he  must   attain 

*  As  an  exemplification  of  this  last  remark,  I  transcribe  the  follow- 
ign  letter  of  George  III.  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury : 

"Mt  good  Lord  Prelate,  ^ 

"  I  could  not  delay  giving  you  the  notification  of  the  grief  and 
concern  with  which  my  heart  was  affected,  at  receiving  authentic 
information  that  revels  have  made  their  way  into  your  palace.  At 
the  same  time  I  must  signify  to  you  my  sentiments  on  this  subject, 
which  hold  these  levities  and  vain  dissipations  as  utterly  inexpedient, 
if  not  unlawful,  to  pass  in  a  residence  for  many  centuries  devoted  to 
divine  studies,  religious  retirement,  and  the  extensive  exercise  of  char- 
ity and  benevolence  ;  I  add,  in  a  place  where  so  many  of  your  prede- 
cessors have  led  their  lives  in  such  sanctity  as  has  thrown  lustre  on 
the  pure  religion  they  professed  and  adorned. 

From  the  dissatisfaction  with  which  you  must  perceive  I  hold  these 
improprieties,  not  to  speak  in  harsher  terms,  and  on  still  more  pious 
principles,  I  trust  you  will  reform  them  immediately ;  so  that  I  may 
not  have  occasion  to  show  any  further  mark  of  my  displeasure,  or  to 
interpose  in  a  different  manner. 

"  May  God  take  your  Grace  into  his  Almighty  protection  ! 

"  I  remain,  my  Lord  Prelate, 

"  Your  gracious  friend, 

"  G.  R." 


284  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

to  G^rratcr  tliaii  ordinary  spirituality  of  mind ; 
if  iindevout,  lie  must  be  a  most  wicked  man. 
lie  Avill  he  a  man  to  be  admired  and  imitated, 
or  one  to  be  abjiorred  and  shunned. 

In  determining  the  true  genius  and  nature 
of  piety,  the  writer  has  but  one  remark  to  offer 
to  his  brethren,  who,  on  such  a  subject,  need 
no  instructions  from  his  pen.  The  longer  he 
lives,  the  more  is  he  persuaded,  that  the  sum 
and  substance  of  true  religion  consists  in  ohe- 
dience  to  the  commandments  of  God.  "  This  is 
the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  command- 
ments, and  his  commandments  are  not  griev- 
ous." Oh  it  is  a  great  matter,  in  heart  and  in 
life,  to  abstain  from  those  things  which  God 
has  forbidden,  and  to  do  those  w  hich  he  has  re- 
quired. It  alters  not  the  importance  of  this 
remark,  that  such  a  righteousness  is  not  a  sin- 
ner's justification ;  is  all  his  religion.  Impulses 
of  fancy,  animal  emotions,  vague  and  dreamy 
sentimentalism  may  inweave  themselves  with 
the  intellectual  temperaments  and  habits  of 
good  men,  and  give  their  piety  its  lights  and 
shadows ;  but  they  form  no  part  of  their  piety. 
That  fervor  which  glows  only  to  obey,  and 
those  impulses  which  impel  to  do  and  suffer 
the  will  of  God,  are  alone  worthy  of  confidence. 
Men  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  because 
they  never  obey  God  ;  devils  are  devils,  because 
they  live  in  disobedience.     And  Christian  men 


/ 
THE  PERSONAL  PIETY  OF  MINISTERS.  285 

and  Christian  ministers  are  Christian  just  in 
the  measure  in  which  they  are  obedient.  Faith 
is  as  obedient  as  it  is  confiding ;  love  is  as  duti- 
ful, as  it  is  affectionate ;  humility  is  as  submis- 
sive, as  it  is  lowly ;  penitence  is  as  much  afraid 
of  sinning,  as  it  mourns  for  sin ;  joy  is  as  quick 
to  do  the  will  of  God,  hearkening  to  the  voice 
of  his  word,  as  it  is  enraptured  and  transport- 
ing ;  and  zeal  is  as  warm  and  steadfast  in  giv- 
ing battle  to  all  that  is  wrong,  as  it  is  when  it 
burns  with  its  boldest  and  most  active  spiritu- 
ality. It  is  a  dry  doctrine,  a  dead  orthodoxy, 
and  no  more  resembles  true  piety  than  a  mar- 
ble statue  does  a  living  man,  that  does  not  ex- 
press itself  in  obedience.  There  is  amazing 
force  in  that  remonstrance  of  Samuel  to  Saul, 
"  To  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hear- 
ken than  the  fat  of  rams."  Afllictive  fastings 
and  fervent  prayers,  devout  contemplation,  elo- 
quent sermons,  fitting  religious  conversation, 
and  commended  sanctity  are  sounding  brass  and 
tinkling  cymbal,  compared  with  cheerful  obe- 
dience to  the  will  of  God.  Nor,  in  saying  these 
things,  do  we  forget,  that  the  "  Lord  looketh 
on  the  heart,"  and  requires  a  spiritual  religion. 
The  religion  that  is  all  internal,  and  the  relig- 
ion that  is  all  external,  are  upon  the  same  foot- 
ing ;  both  are  bad  :  the  former  all  emotion  and 
alternate  rapture  and  grief,  and  empty  imagi- 
nation ; — the  latter,  the  form  of  godliness  with- 


286  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

out  the  power.  What  is  piety,  but  that  state 
of  mind  and  moral  feeling  which  regards  God, 
as  God  ;  which  loves  him  as  God  ;  which  obeys 
him  as  God,  and  honors  him  as  our  Lawgiver 
and  our  Redeemer?  What  is  piety,  but  the 
love  of  the  creature  so  responding  to  the  love 
of  the  Creator,  that  in  defiance  of  every  oppos- 
ing claim,  whether  of  corruption  within  or  the 
world  without,  and  in  opposition  to  every  other 
master,  it  makes  the  Redeeming  Saviour  its 
Lord,  and  perfects  holiness  in  his  love  and 
fear  ?  What  is  piety  but  that  great  astounding 
principle,  w  hich,  while  it  is  the  main-spring  of 
action  in  the  heart,  has  the  vigor  and  efficacy  to 
make  itself  felt  in  every  artery,  and  vein,  and 
muscle,  and  delicate  nerve  of  the  moral  man  ? 
Strong  spiritual  exercises,  under  the  powerful 
impression  of  Scriptural  truth,  are  characteris- 
tic of  a  healthful  state  of  moral  feeling,  only 
when  they  are  sufficiently  strong  to  make  us 
love  and  perform  the  will  of  our  Father  which 
is  in  heaA'en. 

This  is  the  piety  which  the  pulpit  solicits,  in 
order  to  give  it  power.  It  is  goodness.  It  is 
loveliness.  Yet  is  it  that  energy  of  purpose 
which  arises  from  an  imperious  conviction  of 
duty  :  that  humility  which  makes  the  minister 
"as  one  that  serveth  ;" — that  self-denial  and 
public  spirit  which  distinguishes  l^m  from  those 
who  are  "  lovers  of  their  own  selves  ;" — that 


THE  PERSONAL  PIETY  OF  MINISTERS.  287 

love  of  God  which  consists  in  keeping  his  com- 
mandments;— that  love  of  man  which  pities 
the  apostate,  and  goes  after  the  lost  sheep ; — 
that  faith  which  takes  strong  hold  of  God's 
promises ; — and  that  conscious  dependence 
which  relies  upon  his  all-sufficient  grace. 

There  is  no  part  of  a  minister's  work  that 
is  not  immediately  affected  by  his  piety.  The 
object  at  which  he  aims,  his  own  personal  qual- 
ifications, his  firmness  and  stability  in  the  faith, 
his  perseverance  in  toil,  his  comfort  in  trials, 
and  his  w  hole  spirit,  and  even  manner  in  the 
pulpit,  are  influenced  by  his  fear  of  God,  and 
his  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  Light  and  love  are 
distinct  things.  His  embassy  is  an  embassy 
of  love.  Before  Peter  was  sent  forth,  after  his 
lamentable  fill,  his  affection  and  sincerity  w^ere 
put  to  the  test  before  many  witnesses, — "  Lov- 
est  thou  me  1 — lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  1" 
Happy  minister,  w-ho  like  him,  can  say,  "  Lord, 
thou  knowest  all  things ;  thou  knowest  that  I 
love  thee  !"  We  have  but  to  read  the  life  of 
Whitfield,  and  Payson,  and  McCheyne,  in  or- 
der to  be  convinced,  that  the  secret  of  their 
succe.ss  was  their  piety.  The  Earl  of  Bath 
says  of  Whitfield,  "  Mocked  and  reviled,  as 
Mr.  Whitfield  is,  still  I  contend  the  day  will 
come  when  England  will  be  just,  and  own  his 
greatness  as  a  Reformer,  and  his  goodjiess  as  a 
minister  of  the  Most  High  God."     Whitfield 


288  THE    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

died  1770,  and  in  the  town  wliere  the  writer 
of  these  j)aii:es  was  born.  Tlie  churches  in 
Newburyport,  to  tlie  present  day,  preserve  the 
remembrance  of  his  preaching,  not  more  than 
the  remembrance  of  his  piety.  He  sometimes 
preached  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  open  air, 
to  great  multitudes.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions he  says,  "  All  was  hushed  and  exceed- 
ingly solemn.  The  stars  shone  bright ;  and 
then,  if  ever,  by  an  eye  of  faith  I  saw  him  who 
called  them  all  by  their  names.  My  soul  was 
filled  with  a  holy  ambition,  and  I  longed  to  be 
one  of  those  who  shall  shine  as  the  stars  for- 
ever and  ever."  Just  think  of  a  man  who  has 
even  the  common  gift  of  utterance,  holding 
forth  the  word  of  life  in  such  a  state  of  mind 
as  this  !  At  another  time  he  says,  "  I  lead  a 
pilgrim  life  ;  you  will  pray  that  I  may  have  a 
pilgrim  heart.  Ere  long  I  hope  my  Heavenly 
Father  w  ill  take  me  home.  I  am  ambitious  ; 
I  want  to  sit  upon  a  throne.  Jesus  hath  pur- 
chased and  provided  a  throne  in  heaven  for 
me."  That  beloved  man  of  God,  too,  Henry 
Martyn,  was  a  lovely  exemplification  of  per- 
sonal piety.  "  Let  me  praise  God,"  he  would 
say,  "  O  how  great  is  his  excellency  !  I  find 
my  heart  pained  for  want  of  words  to  praise 
him  according  to  his  excellent  greatness.  I 
look  forward  to  complete  conformity  to  him  as 
the  great  end  of  my  existence,  and  my  assur- 


THE  PERSONAL  PIETY  OF  MINISTERS.  289 

ance  was  full."  A"-ain  he  says :  "  Nothino- 
seemed  desirable  but  to  glorify  him  :  all  crea- 
tures were  as  nothing."  And  again,  "  O  my 
God,  it  is  enough.  Hasten,  O  hasten  the  day 
when  I  shall  leave  the  world,  and  come  to 
thee  ;  when  I  shall  no  more  be  vexed,  and  as- 
tonished, and  pained  at  the  universal  wicked- 
ness of  this  lost  earth.  But  here  I  would  abide 
thy  time,  and  spend,  and  be  spent  for  the  sal- 
vation of  any  poor  soul,  and  lie  down  at  the 
feet  of  sinners,  and  beseech  them  not  to  plunge 
into  an  eternity  of  torment."  There  is  some- 
thing in  such  a  state  of  mind  as  this,  which 
gives  to  the  pulpit  that  which  nothing  else  can 
give.  To  be  eifective,  its  ministers  must  live 
near  to  God,  be  lilled  with  his  fulness,  and  re- 
flect his  glory.  Men  must  take  knowledge  of 
them  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus,  and  that 
it  is  not  they  who  live,  but  Christ  who  lives  in 
them.  It  was  the  remark  of  one  who  was 
familiar  with  Archbishop  Leighton,  "If  none 
shall  go  to  heaven  but  so  holy  a  man  as  this, 
what  will  bacome  of  me  !"  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  the  religion  of  such  a  preacher  is  the  most 
effective  preaching. 

"  When  one  that  holds  communion  with  the  skies, 
Has  filled  his  xirn  where  these  pure  waters  rise, 
And  once  commingles  with  us  meaner  things, 
'Tis  e'en  as  if  an  angel  shook  liis  wings ; 
Immortal  fragrance  fills  the  circuit  wide, 
And  tells  ua  whence  his  treasures  are  supplied," 

13 


290  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

It  is  this  which  makes  an  able  and  powerful 
preacher.  Sucli  a  man  will  always  be  listened 
to,  and  prove  himself  a  commanding  and  au- 
thoritative messenger  of  the  Master  who  sent 
him.  The  spirit  of  his  office  rests  upon  him, 
and  he  will  make  impressions  upon  the  con- 
science and  heart,  even  though  he  may  not 
excite  admiration  and  applause.  Even  though 
he  be  not  great,  he  will  be  greatly  useful.  His 
ardent  piety  will  give  a  charm  to  his  preaching 
even  beyond  that  which  is  imparted  to  a  less 
pious  but  more  consummate  orator. 

While  the  personal  character  of  the  Ameri- 
can ministry  will  not  suffer  in  the  comparison 
with  that  of  any  other  portion  of  Christendom, 
it  is  quite  obvious  that  the  present  is  not  the 
age  of  pre-eminent  piety.  The  piety  of  our 
fathers  puts  us  to  shame.  The  church  partici- 
pates largely,  not  only  in  the  prosperity,  but 
the  spirit  of  the  world  ;  and  her  ministers, 
because  they  have  not  more  faithfully  rebuked 
this  sin,  have  themselves  become  infected  with 
it.  It  is  not  with  us  now  as  it  was  "  in  the 
kindness  of  our  youth,  in  the  love  of  our  es- 
pousals, and  in  a  land  that  was  not  sown."  Our 
hearts  are  not  softened  in  the  fountain  of  God's 
love.  We  do  not  live  as  holy  men  of  God  were 
wont  to  live,  "  as  pilgrims  and  sojourners  on 
the  earth,"  and  declare  plainly  that  we  seek  a 
city  that  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and 


THE  PERSONAL  PIETY  OF  MINISTERS.  291 

maker  is  God.  God  himself  is  too  much  a  wil- 
derness to  us,  a  land  of  darkness,  and  the  world 
too  much  our  home.  Would  that  we  mourned 
over  this  state  of  mind  with  bitter  tears!  We 
grope  in  darkness,  sometimes  in  thick  dark- 
ness ;  and  we  lose  our  relish  for  our  work,  be- 
cause we  savor  so  much  of  the  things  that  be 
of  men.  The  Gospel  we  preach  has  not  its 
counterpart  in  ourselves.  We  teach  others 
what  we  ourselves  have  not  practically  learned. 
Our  outAvard  man  perishes,  but  our  inward  man 
is  not  renewed  day  hy  day  ;  our  renewed  nature 
does  not  become  newer  and  fresher  as  we  go  on- 
ward. Oh,  it  is  dreadful  to  live  thus,  to  preach 
thus,  with  the  dead  weight  of  our  corruption 
dragging  us  down  to  the  earth  !  It  is  unworthy 
of  the  Master  we  serve,  and  of  the  cause  v»^e 
advocate ;  it  is  unworthy  of  ourselves.  This 
inconsistent  piety  is  the  plague-spot  of  the  pul- 
pit. It  is  the  polluting,  the  infectious  thing. 
It  makes  the  preacher  ashamed  to  look  his  peo- 
ple in  the  face  ;  his  conscience  smites  him ; 
his  heart  trembles ;  and  he  may  well  feel  that 
he  can  nev^er  more  open  his  mouth,  because  of 
his  shame.  His  energy  is  weak  and  pusillani- 
mous ;  his  holy  daring  is  faint-hearted  ;  liis  af- 
fectionate tenderness  is  fled  and  gone,  because 
the  words  he  utters  do  not  find  a  distinct  and 
full  echo  from  his  own  heart. 

It  ought  not,  it  must  not  be  thus  with  the 


292  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

ministers  of  Christ.  God  will  trv  us,  and  make 
US  liolicr  men,  or  he  may  abandon  us.  If  he 
has  indeed  clioscn  us  and  ordained  us,  it  is  that 
we  should  go  forth  and  bear  fruit,  and  that  our 
fruit  should  remain.  If  w^e  are  indeed  his,  he 
will  assign  more  to  suffer,  as  well  as  more  to 
do ;  until  we  can  say  with  Paul,  "  I  count  not 
my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  fmish 
my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I 
have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the 
Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  The  preacher 
and  the  man  must  be  one.  His  heart  must  be 
a  transcript  of  his  sermons,  and  then  will  he  be 
a  chosen  vessel  to  carry  His  name  who  was 
crucified  to  lost  men.  It  will  be  no  inconsid- 
erable evidence  of  the  truth  and  power  of 
Christianity,  when  such  are  its  preachers,  and 
such  the  power  exerted  by  its  pulpits. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

THE  EXAMPLE  OF  MINISTERS. 

We  need  not  stop  to  introduce  the  subject 
of  the  present  chapter  by  any  exordium.  In 
order  to  give  the  pulpit  power,  ininisters  them- 
selves must  enforce  its  instructions,  hi/  a  life  and 
conversation  in  keeping  ivitli  their  high  vocation. 
This  is  so  obvious  a  truth  that  any  illustration 
of  it  would  seem  to  be  needless  ;  yet  are  there 
some  things  in  relation  to  it,  which  have  been 
too  frequently  suppressed,  and  which,  perhaps, 
may  subject  him  who  utters  them  to  obloquy. 
It  were  no  more  than  the  sober  truth,  were  the 
writer  to  say,  that  in  expressing  his  thoughts 
on  this  topic,  he  does  so  in  the  deliberate  ex- 
pectation of  rebuke  from  some  of  those  whom 
he  highly  respects,  but  who,  in  his  judgment, 
have  mistaken  views. 

It  is  too  much  to  expect  that  the  ministers 
of  Christ  should  be  perfect  men;  defects  in 
their  character  are  what  the  Church  and  the 
world  must  always  look  for.  We  have  no  ob- 
jection to  perfect  ministers,  if  we  could  find 


294  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

tlicm ;  but  all  whom  we  have  ever  yet  seen, 
had  something  to  confess  and  be  forgiven,  and 
much  need  to  grow  better.  "  There  is  no  man 
that  liveth  and  sinneth  not;"  there  is  no  living 
minister,  and  none  who  ever  did  live,  but  those 
who  knew  him  best,  were  able  to  detect  some 
discernible  blemish,  some  weak  spot  in  his  per- 
sonal character.  We  are  not  apologists  for 
human  imperfection ;  yet  do  we  pity  the  man 
who,  in  this  fallen  world,  expects  to  find  every 
thing  in  his  minister,  to  gratify  either  his  piety 
or  his  pride.  He  can  have  little  knowledge  of 
liimself,  and  little  of  that  charity  which  hopeth 
all  things,  and  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,  if 
he  cannot  appreciate  true  excellence  because 
it  has  blemishes.  It  were  a  rare  combination, 
to  find  any  one  man  possessing  all  the  personal 
qualifications  that  are  to  be  desired,  in  those 
who  minister  at  the  altar.  The  heau-ideal  may 
be  a  very  agreeable  picture  to  the  imagination  ; 
but  it  will  never  be  realized.  It  was,  indeed, 
once  realized  ;  but  it  was  too  unearthly  for  this 
low  world,  too  pure  for  men  to  look  upon ;  they 
defiled  it,  yea  they  spit  upon  it,  and  smote  it 
with  their  hands,  and  exclaimed,  "  Let  him  be 
crucified !" 

There  are  two  ways  of  estimating  the  char- 
acter of  God's  ministers  ;  the  one  is  by  making 
their  imperfections  prominent,  the  other  by  giv- 
ing prominence  to  their  excellencies.     A  min- 


THE   EXAMPLE   OF   MINISTERS.  295 

ister  may  have  some  good  qualities,  and  be  de- 
ficient in  others.  He  may  be  distinguished  for 
prudence,  and  not  for  zeal ;  or  if  distinguished 
for  zeal,  be  exposed  to  imprudencies.  He  may 
be  unsocial,  but  studious ;  or  if  not  studious, 
he  may  make  some  amends  for  this  deficiency, 
by  the  familiar  acquaintance  he  cultivates  with 
his  fellow-men.  He  may  be  heedless  of  his 
secular  affairs,  and  you  may  reproach  him  for 
making  perpetual  exactions  upon  the  bounty 
of  his  people ;  or  he  may  be  careful  of  them, 
and  you  may  accuse  him  of  worldliness.  The 
man  will  fmd  enough  to  do  who  sets  himself  to 
search  and  hunt  out  a  minister's  imperfections ; 
he  will  find  them  in  plenty.  He  may  triumph 
in  them,  and  live  upon  them,  as  those  do  who 
"  eat  up  the  sins  of  God's  people  ;"  but  he  will 
not,  I  am  thinking,  on  that  account,  enjoy  a  more 
thriving  spirituality.  A  happy  man  he  cannot 
be ;  how  holy  he  is,  must  be  left  to  the  decis- 
ions of  his  own  conscience,  and  of  another  day. 
But  it  would  not  be  surprising,  if  his  humility, 
and  his  contrition,  and  his  self-diffidence  and 
meekness  were  somewhat  questionable,  and  if 
he  were  not  exposed  by  his  own  spiritual  pride 
to  fall  into  the  snare  of  the  devil.  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  men,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  sit- 
ting in  severe  judgment  upon  the  character  of 
ministers ;  but  they  are  suspicious  men,  rash 
men,  and  men  whose  word  Avould  be  taken 


296  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

with  some  grains  of  allowance  in  a  court  of  jus- 
tice. It  Avould  certainly  seem  to  be  a  more 
pleasant  and  profitable  employment,  and  would 
savor  more  of  Christian  equity,  in  forming  an 
estimate  of  the  ministerial  character,  to  give  its 
acknowledged  excellencies  their  due  weight. 

Not  a  few  of  the  moral  defects  of  minis- 
ters depend  upon  their  natural  temperament. 
Those  who  have  the  fewest  imperfections,  are 
not  always  the  best  men ;  and  for  the  obvious 
reasons  that  they  may  have  the  fewest  excel- 
lencies. They  may  not  be  capable,  from  their 
natural  temperament,  of  possessing  strong  and 
striking  excellencies ;  and  on  this  account,  their 
imperfections  may  be  comparatively  few.  It 
may  be  difficult  to  detect  them  in  an  impru- 
dent, or  an  idle  word ;  because  their  disposi- 
tion is  naturally  retiring  and  taciturn,  and  they 
rarely  speak  at  all,  except  in  the  pulpit.  You 
may  not  be  able  to  reproach  them  with  rash, 
or  imprudent  conduct ;  because  they  are  men 
of  shrinking  diffidence,  and  instead  of  throw- 
ing themselves  amid  scenes  of  exciting  inter- 
est, they  leave  such  scenes  to  men  of  a  differ- 
ent spirit.  Well  do  I  remember  a  minister  in 
this  community,  now  gathered  to  his  fathers, 
who,  if  judged  by  his  imperfections,  would 
meet  a  severe  verdict;  but  who,  when  esti- 
mated by  his  excellencies,  has  scarcely  left  his 
equal  behind  him.     I  loved  and  honored  him. 


THE   EXAMPLE   OF   MINISTERS.  297 

because,  whoever  else  was  backward,  he  was 
always  ready,  with  his  hand,  his  heart,  his  time 
and  his  money,  for  every  good  word  and  work. 
There  may  be  quite  as  much  of  the  power  of 
godliness  in  the  more  animated,  as  in  the  more 
tame ;  while  there  may  be,  and  ordinarily  are, 
more  visible  imperfections  in  the  former,  than 
in  the  latter.  Men  there  have  been,  who  have 
deeply  mourned  over  these  constitutional  ex- 
posures ;  while  it  is  quite  obvious  they  would 
not  have  possessed  the  manly  and  vigorous  piety 
for  which  they  were  distinguished,  nor  have 
achieved  that  which  they  were  raised  up  to 
achieve,  without  them.  There  were  natural 
traits  in  the  character  of  the  Apostle  Peter, 
which  rendered  him  rash  and  presumptuous, 
and  which  led  to  his  fall ;  yet  had  he  been 
more  phlegmatic  and  cold,  while  he  would 
have  avoided  the  infamy  of  denying  his  Mas- 
ter, he  never  would  have  so  proved  himself  his 
self-denying  and  enthusiastic  disciple.  Imper- 
fections there  were  in  the  character  of  Martin 
Luther;  and  they  were  imperfections  which  a 
certain  class  of  men  in  our  own  day  would  have 
severely  rebuked  ;  nay,  some  modern  churches 
would  have  called  him  to  account  for  them. 
But  without  the  natural  temperament  to  which 
they  are  obviously  to  be  attributed,  he  never 
would  have  been  the  distinguished  Reformer. 
We  forget  his  errors  when  we  read  his  com- 

13* 


298  THE   POWER  OF   THE    PULPIT. 

mentary  oii  the  Epistle  to  the  Giilatians,  and 
see  liim  before  the  Diet  at  the  city  of  Worms. 
He  miii:ht  liave  been  as  mild  and  circumspect 
as  Melancthon,  and  Protestantism  might  have 
been  strangled  in  its  cradle.  There  is  a  buoy- 
ancy of  mind  and  heart  which  God  has  given 
to  some  of  his  ministers,  for  great  and  impor- 
tant ends ;  and  though  it  may  expose  them  to 
indiscretions,  they  ought  to  be  thankful  for  the 
gift,  and  instead  of  abusing  it,  only  labor  to  de- 
vote it  to  his  glory.  Their  Heavenly  Father 
has  a  work  for  them  to  do  for  which  he  has  fitted 
them  ;  he  lays  burdens  upon  them  which  men 
of  a  different  temperament  are  not  able  to  bear ; 
and  in  his  own  time  and  wav,  he  will  make  it 
his  care,  that  while  his  gifts  promote  their  use- 
fulness, they  do  not  ensnare  their  souls. 

We  are  no  believers  in  an  unsocial  Chris- 
tianity ;  nor  do  we  desire  to  see  its  ministers 
unsocial  and  cheerless.  This  might  be  in  keep- 
ing w  itli  the  dark  ages  of  Rome,  but  it  has  no 
alliance  with  the  cheered  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
Cheerlessness  is  not  piety ;  gloom  and  depres- 
sion are  not  piety.  They  are  precisely  that 
artful  counterfeit  of  piety  which  the  devil  im- 
poses upon  many  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  for 
the  purpose  of  blasting  those  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  which  are  "  not  meat  and  drink,  but 
righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost."     There  is  a  worldly  joy,  a  joy  that  is 


THE    EXAMPLE   OF   MINISTERS.  299 

found  only  in  the  world  and  from  the  world ; 
but  it  is  "  like  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a 
pot."  But  there  is  too  a  "  joy  of  the  Lord," 
which  is  the  strength  of  God's  ministers,  as 
well  as  the  strength  of  his  people  ;  it  is  joy  in 
God,  and  joy  from  God,  through  Jesus  Christ. 
Some  of  the  best,  and  most  devoted,  and  most 
successful  ministers  I  have  ever  known,  have 
been  distinguished  for  their  attractive  cheer- 
fulness. 

There  are  not  wanting  those  who  impugn 
the  character  of  the  Christian  ministry,  be- 
cause they  do  not  carry  the  solemnity  of  the 
pulpit  into  ail  the  scenes  of  social  life.  Many 
indeed  are  the  scenes  of  social  life  where  the 
solemnity  of  the  pulpit  is  called  for;  nor  in 
any  of  them  are  the  dignity  and  proprieties  of 
the  ministerial  character  unfitting.  But  as 
well  misfht  secular  time  be  transformed  into 
the  Sabbath,  and  the  busy  scenes  of  the  world 
into  the  formal  services  of  the  sanctuary,  as 
the  emotions  of  the  pulpit  pervade  the  uniform 
intercourse  of  a  minister,  either  with  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  or  the  men  of  the  world.  Levity 
and  worldliness  are  sufficiently  out  of  place  in 
him  who  is  an  ambassador  of  God  to  guilty 
men ;  but  affected  solemnity  is  even  worse. 
Ministers  there  are  who  are  so  solemn  that  you 
never  see  a  smile,  or  a  pleasant  expression  upon 
their  countenances  ;  they  arc  absolutely  fear- 


300  THE   POWER  OP   TH^^   PULPIT. 

ful.  There  is  no  piety  in  this.  Were  an  angel 
from  heaven  to  dwell  with  men,  his  spirit  and 
example  would  he  a  perpetual  rehuke  to  such 
ministers.  Christianity,  though  of  divine  or- 
igin, is  not  the  religion  of  angels  ;  it  is  ingrafted 
on  the  human  nature.  Angels  would  delight 
to  be  its  preachers ;  hut  the  treasure  is  com- 
mitted to  men ;  the  whole  arrangement  is 
adapted  to  ^vhat  is  human ;  and  while  its  great 
object  is  to  purify  and  elevate,  it  is  no  part  of 
its  design  to  terrify.  It  is  not  a  sort  of  person- 
ified apathy,  nor  is  it  some  ghostly  messenger 
that  lives  only  among  the  tombs ;  it  moves 
among  men  as  the  messenger  of  heaven's  ten- 
derest  mercy ;  and  though  wherever  it  goes, 
it  rebukes  iniquity,  its  footsteps  are  radiant 
with  light  and  love.  It  multiplies  the  joys  of 
men,  and  only  admonishes  them  that  they  may 
not  be  sinful  joys. 

"  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children."  John 
the  Baptist  was  accused  of  unsocial  severity 
even  to  madness ;  while  Jesus  Christ  himself 
was  called  a  glutton  and  a  wine-bibber.  Let 
ministers,  in  their  intercourse  with  the  world, 
have  a  conscience  void  of  offence.  They  are 
human  ;  nor  is  there  any  generosity  in  denying 
them  the  relief  of  those  occasional  relaxations 
from  toil,  amid  the  interchanges  of  cheered 
thought  and  chastened  feeling,  w  hich  the  bet- 
ter fit  them  for  their  appropriate  w^ork.     We 


THE   EXAMPLE   OF   MINISTERS.  301 

need  not  fear  the  influence  of  such  men,  but 
ratlier  stand  in  fear  of  those  who  slander  them, 
and  whose  severer  piety  expresses  itself  most 
spontaneously  in  the  dark  jealousies  of  a  sus- 
picious mind.  Who  would  not  prefer  to  stand 
in  the  place  of  Robert  Hall,  than  in  the  place 
of  some  of  his  fastidious  accusers  ?  Much  as 
the  pulpit  was  indebted  to  the  intellectual  su- 
periority of  this  wonderful  man,  it  was  not  less 
indebted  to  his  moral  superiority.  He  was,  by 
the  universal  consent  of  the  devout  and  godly, 
liimself  an  eminently  devout  and  godly  man. 
He  had  his  faults.  He  was  censorious,  and 
sometimes  abusive  ; — he  was  occasionally  so, 
even  to  excess,  and  witty  and  sarcastic  almost 
beyond  endurance.* 

But  we  should  do  great  injustice  to  ourselves 
and  our  subject,  were  these  animadversions  all 
we  have  to  say  on  the  subject  of  ministerial 
example.  While  we  do  not  look  for  faultless 
conduct  in  the  cliaracter  of  ministers,  yet  do 
we  look  for  traits  of  character  which  carry  con- 
viction to  the  public  mind,  that  they  are  men 
of  God.  The  Apostle  Paul,  in  enumerating 
the  qualifications  of  a  bishop,  says,  "  Moreover, 

*  On  being  very  gravely  reproved  for  his  faults  by  one  of  his 
brethren,  and  in  a  manner  not  a  little  dictatorial  and  solemn,  he  sat 
for  a  while  in  perfect  silence.  At  length  he  replied,  "  I  suppose, 
brother  W.,  it  is  just  as  you  say.  There  is  a  difference  between  you 
and  me.  And  it  is  just  this :  I  let  off  all  my  nonsense  in  the  parlor, 
and  you  keep  yours  for  the  pulpit." 


302  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

he  must  Imve  a  good  report  o^  them  that  are 
Avithout."  While  he  may  not  be  the  slave  of 
popular  opiuiou,  he  slioukl  commend  religion 
by  Ihe  iiilluence  of  that  "  good  name,"  which 
is  "  rather  to  be  chosen  tiian  great  riches." 
We  have  seen  him  in  the  closet,  in  the  study, 
in  the  pulpit,  at  the  bed-side  of  the  sick  and 
dying,  and  at  the  grave  of  the  departed ;  but 
there  are  other  scenes  where  his  Christian 
graces  and  moral  virtues  ought  to  honor  the 
sacred  name  by  which  he  is  called.  His  fam- 
ily has  claims  upon  him,  and  so  has  the  social 
circle  ;  nor  unless  he  go  out  of  the  world,  can 
he  be  wholly  unmindful  of  the  responsibilities 
of  business.  In  all  these  spheres,  he  ought  to 
maintain  a  reputable  character  in  the  view  of 
the  world  ;  every  part  of  his  conduct  ought  to 
be  truly  estimable ;  so  that  every  beholder 
shall  be  constrained  to  acknowledge,  not  only 
the  sincerity  of  his  profession  as  a  Christian, 
but  his  superior  practical  influence  as  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Gospel.  His  oflice  demands  this ; 
it  is  worthy  of  it ;  if  he  has  habits,  or  prac- 
tices that  bring  it  into  disrepute,  his  preaching 
loses  much  of  its  power,  and  the  pulpit  some- 
times receives  a  dangerous  wound. 

The  Bible  is  given  to  men  to  be  the  rule  of 
their  conduct.  This  important  truth  every 
minister  preaches,  and  insists  upon  ;  he  is  con- 
stantly calling  upon  men  to  acknowledge  its 


THE   EXAMPLE  OP  MINISTERS.  303 

authority,  and  to  pay  to  it  that  practical  defer- 
ence which  its  supremacy  requires.  But  what 
if,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  world,  he  fails  to  make 
it  the  rule  of  his  own  deportment; — may  he 
persuade  himself  that  men  have  not  discern- 
ment enough  to  perceive  his  inconsistency  ? 
What  if  he  is  remiss  in  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath ; — what  if  he  is  not  strictly  moral, 
temperate,  pure,  and  honest ; — what  if  he  is  not 
punctual  in  his  pecuniary  engagements  ; — what 
if  his  promises  are  violated,  and  it  is  understood 
that  he  is  not  always  true  to  his  word ; — what 
if  he  is  extravagant  in  his  statements,  and  ha- 
bitually allows  his  imagination  to  give  such 
a  coloring  to  facts,  that  he  cannot  be  confided 
in ; — are  these  things  no  reproach  to  the  pul- 
pit ?  Far  otherwise.  If  the  imperfections  of 
his  character  are  such,  that  they  are  continually 
rising  up  to  the  remembrance  of  his  hearers, 
he  preaches  almost  in  vain.  He  may  indeed 
be  accused  of  wickedness  of  wliich  he  was 
never  guilty  ;  but  if  h©  has  failed  even  in  that 
circumspection  which  would  have  protected 
him  from  the  imputation,  or  suspicion  of  evil ; 
or  if  there  is  any  thing  in  his  deportment 
which  is  obnoxious  to  misconception  ;  his  char- 
acter may  have  received  a  dangerous  wound. 
But  i^  he  is  a  wicked  and  immoral  man,  though 
he  speak  with  the  tongue  of  an  angel,  men  re- 
volt from  his  teaching.     Or  if  he  is  a  good 


304  THE    POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

man,  and   lias   hern  betrayed   into  secret  sin, 
how  are  the  difliculties  and  trials  of  his  work 
auii:mented  !     His  own  soul  beconfies  estranged 
from  God  ;  his  bosom  is  agitated  by  the  thought 
that  he  is  a  suspected  man ;  he  trembles  be- 
fore "  the  shaking  of  a  leaf,"  and  a  "  fire  not 
blown  consumes  him."     In  the  midst  of  laugh- 
ter his  heart  is  sorrowful :   God   hides  his  face, 
and  he  is  troubled  ;  he   loses  his  relish  for  his 
sacred  employment ;   clouds  settle  on  his  path, 
storms  gather; — he  has  lost  his  courage,  and 
feels  that  he   has  no  shelter  from  their  fury. 
And  if  his  sin  be  not  secret,  and  amount  to 
some  gross  immorality;  though  he  may  be  a 
good  man,  and  a  true  penitent,  men  feel  that 
he  has  unfitted  himself  for  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel; — he  feels  so  himself;  and  the  greatest 
honor  he  can  do  his  office  is  to  put  off  its  robes. 
There  is  great  w^eight  in  Paul's  injunction  to 
Timothy,— "  Take   heed  to   thyself;''  be  thou 
"  an  example  to  the  believers,  in  conversation, 
in  faith,  in  purity."    A  bishop  "  must  be  blame- 
less as   the   stew  ard  of  God  ;   not  self-willed, 
not  soon  angry,  not  given  to  wine,  not  greedy 
of  filthy  lucre ;  but  sober,  just,  holy,  temper- 
ate."    He  must  furnish  living  convictions  of 
the  importance  and  power  of  a  virtuous  life,  of 
an  example  that  will  bear  inspection,  and  dis- 
ciplined by  care  and  watchfulness. 

But  there  must  be  a  great  advance  upon  all 


THE   EXAMPLE   OF   MINISTERS.  305 

this,  in  order  to  give  the  example  of  ministers 
its  due  influence.  There  are  distorted  exhi- 
bitions of  the  religion  they  preach,  as  well  as 
those  distinctive  influences  to  which  we  have 
just  referred.  There  are  foibles  which  dis- 
credit and  degrade  the  pulpit ;  there  are  mi- 
nor immoralities  which  scarcely  have  a  name, 
which  have  a  bad  aspect  in  a  Christian  min- 
ister, which  stain  his  name,  and  make  it  of  bad 
odor  in  the  world.  There  are  babits  also, 
which  have  been  long  indulged  in  defiance 
of  the  convictions  of  judgment,  the  reproofs 
of  conscience,  and  the  settled  persuasion  that 
they  are  a  barrier  to  usefulness.  There  are 
worldly  indulgencies  which  are  justified  by  the 
example  of  some  ministers,  which  are  highly 
injurious  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  While  they 
preach  faithfully,  they  live  as  though  they  were 
slaves  of  the  world ; — slaves  to  its  fashions,  its 
example  and  influence.  They  court  its  smiles, 
they  imitate  its  manners,  and  they  meanly 
cringe  to  its  dictation.  They  rob  God,  in  or- 
der to  save  the  means  of  indulging  in  the  pomp 
and  glitter  of  worldly  pride.  They  expend 
more  upon  the  decoration  of  their  own  per- 
sons, and  the  persons  of  their  families,  and 
upon  splendid  furniture  and  paintings,  than 
their  profession  of  supreme  love  to  Jesus  Christ 
will  justify.  The  scenes  of  worldly  pleasure 
often  echo  to  their  voice,  and  are  graced  with 


30G  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

their  stately  step.  Nothing  is  more  obvious 
than  tlmt  thev  Avish  to  be  on  "rood  terms  with 
the  workl,  and  to  be  well  spoken  of  by  the  rich 
and  the  fashionable,  even  though  at  some  oc- 
casional sacrifices  of  principle,  and  a  good  con- 
science. But  the  world  itself  does  not  lionor 
them  for  these  things ;  it  often  despises  them, 
and  if  they  themselves  are  not  despised,  the 
contempt  due  to  them  visits  the  cause  they 
dishonor.  We  have  known  ministers  who,  if 
they  were  to  be  judged  by  their  preaching 
only,  would  rank  high  as  men  of  rare  attain- 
ments ;  but  who,  if  followed  elsewhere,  would 
be  found,  in  more  respects  than  one,  to  be 
very  different  men.  We  ask  for  the  pulpit 
greater  consistency  than  this.  We  ask  for  it 
the  upright  and  delicate  judgment  of  a  well- 
informed  mind,  and  a  sound  conscience ;  we 
ask  for  it  the  verdict  of  a  cultivated  sense  of 
propriety  and  consistency ;  we  ask  for  it  the 
qualities  that  are  in  estimation  with  men  of 
probity  and  honor.  Things  there  are  that  are 
somewhat  beyond  the  rigid  Christian  virtues, 
that  never  fail  to  adorn  it.  There  is  a  trans- 
parent simplicity  of  character,  a  freedom  from 
dissimulation,  a  superiority  to  the  meanness  of 
artifice  and  management, — a  command  of  the 
temper,  and  a  command  of  the  tongue,  and  a 
determined  adherence  to  the  principles  of  hon- 
orable intercourse,   which,  because   they  are 


THE   EXAMPLE  OF   MINISTERS.  307 

possessed  by  so  many  who  make  no  pretensions 
to  religion,  when  neglected  by  Christian  min- 
isters, throw  the  pulpit  into  the  shade.  The 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  surpass  the 
best  specimens  of  morality  and  honor  among 
mere  worldly  men ;  and  when  they  do  so, 
obloquy  will  close  her  lips,  and  a  thousand 
tongues  will  move  in  their  defence. 

Nor  is  this  all  which  they  ought  to  exemplify. 
It  was  to  his  ministers  that  the  Saviour  uttered 
the  thought,  "  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified, 
that  ye  bear  Qnuch  fruit."  Hurtful  indulgen- 
cies  may  be  restrained,  and  the  more  moral 
and  honorable  virtues  may  be  cultivated,  where 
there  are  none  of  the  rare  and  peculiar  excel- 
lencies of  the  Christian  character.  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  of  all  other  men,  ought  to  live  to  do 
good.  The  pulpit  always  has  power,  when,  in 
addition  to  a  full  and  faithful  exhibition  of  God's 
truth,  those  who  occupy  it,  like  their  Divine 
Lord,  "  go  about  doing  good."  It  is  a  delight- 
ful view,  when,  through  every  opening  chan- 
nel, they  send  forth  the  expressions  of  Christian 
benevolence  upon  this  world  of  sin ;  when,  in 
their  plans  and  efforts,  they  comprehend  all 
the  evils  of  suffering  humanity,  sympathizing 
with  its  griefs,  and  not  overlooking  its  perplexi- 
ties and  cares.  Their  character  should  shine 
in  works  of  love.  These  give  them  a  passport 
to  the  confidence  of  men ;  they  commend  the 


308  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

reliofion  tliey  preach  as  something  beyond  a 
mere  system  of  doctrine,  or  mere  professions 
of  good  will.  An  ostentations  display  of  active 
goodness  is  not  what  they  should  seek ;  while 
they  need  affect  no  studied  concealment  of  it, 
and  may  be  willing  to  be  known  as  the  friends 
of  their  race.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  relig- 
ion they  preach,  to  do  good  "  unto  all  men,  es- 
pecially to  those  who  are  of  the  household  of 
faith."  But  it  stops  not  here.  If  we  look  into 
our  own  hearts,  we  shall  find  it  is  no  easy  mat- 
ter to  "  love  our  enemies,"  to  "  bless  those  wiio 
curse  us,"  to  "  do  good  unto  those  that  hate 
us,"  and  to  "  pray  for  those  who  despitefuUy 
use  us."  How^  easy  it  is  to  shut  our  hearts 
against  them  !  Yet  this  is  not  the  part  of  those 
who  preach  his  Gospel,  who  loved  us  when 
we  were  dead  in  sin,  and  when  enemies,  died 
for  us.  The  man  who  harbors  resentment, 
treasures  up  the  remembrance  of  wrong,  and 
refuses  to  forgive,  reflects  no  honor  upon  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  ;  men  may  be  pardoned  for  re- 
fusing to  confide  in  it  on  his  testimony  alone, 
who  furnishes  so  uninviting  an  illustration  of 
its  practical  influence.  Ministers  must  exhibit 
more  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  when  they  do  so, 
men  will  see  and  mark  it,  and  not  withhold 
from  it  their  respect  and  confidence.  Nor 
should  they  always  wait  for  opportunities  of 
doing  good,  but  go  in  search  of  them.     They 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  MINISTERS.  309 

must  ascend  in  order  to  reach  those  who  are 
above  them ;  they  must  descend  to  those  who 
are  below  them ;  they  must  seek  to  do  good  to 
all.  They  ought  to  be  careful  how  they  erect 
a  wall  of  separation  between  themselves  and 
any  man,  or  any  class  of  men  to  whom  they 
may  be  of  any  service  for  this  life,  or  that 
which  is  to  come.  Nor  should  we  ever  feel 
that  we  have  done  enough,  until  the  means 
and  opportunity  of  doing  are  exhausted. 

There  is  also  another  topic  which  relates  to 
the  example  of  ministers,  on  which  I  will  ven- 
ture to  make  a  few  suggestions  :  I  allude  to  a  due 
attention  to  the  decorum  and  proprieties  of  their 
social  intercourse.  It  was  not  beneath  the  Apos- 
tle to  instruct  the  Corinthians,  that  "charity 
doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly."  If  minis- 
ters were  more  mindful  than  they  sometimes 
are,  of  the  demands  of  courtesy  and  kindness ; 
if,  while  they  rise  above  the  formalities  of  friv- 
olous and  unmeaning  etiquette,  they  were  so- 
licitous also  to  avoid  the  imputation  of  a  rug- 
ged and  unfeeling  barbarism  ;  if,  in  their  treat- 
ment of  one  another,  and  their  treatment  of 
other  men,  they  were  influenced  by  the  spirit 
of  mild  forbearance,  and  the  charity  which 
"  thinketh  no  evil ;"  the  pulpit  would  be  not  a 
little  the  gainer  by  the  change.  They  should 
be  "  of  gentle  blood."  If  in  all  their  deport- 
ment they  were  gentle,  as  Christ  was  gentle ; 


310  THE   POWER   OF  THE   PULPIT. 

if  they  were  accommodiitiniTf  without  weakness, 
amiable  and  iiidiilgcnt  without  crime,  and  dig- 
nified without  constrained  and  artificial  cere- 
mony ;  their  influence  as  preachers  woirid  be  in- 
creased many  fold.  The  reputation  of  the  pul- 
pit has  often  suffered  by  the  coarse  disregard 
of  the  thousand  nameless  proprieties  of  social 
life,  which  are  far  more  truly  the  natural  fruit 
of  Christianity,  than  the  product  of  any  con- 
ventional impulse,  or  restraint.  Ministers  need 
not  be  rude  in  order  to  be  faithful ;  rather  do 
they  need  to  be  kind.  Christ  is  our  great 
model.  He  was  all  that  was  courteous.  Let 
any  well-bred  and  observing  man  read  the  nar- 
ratives of  his  life,  as  given  by  the  four  Evan- 
gelists, and  he  will  mark  the  perfectness  of 
good-breeding ;  there  is  not  a  single  action  in 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  course,  that  was  not 
in  perfect  good  taste.  He  was  never  distant 
and  cold ;  nor  rude  and  obtrusive ;  he  was 
never  terrible,  save  to  wickedness.  The  min- 
ister who  possesses  most  of  his  spirit,  comes 
nearest  to  a  genuine  philanthropist  and  a  true 
gentleman.  If  there  were  more  of  this  spirit 
among  those  of  us  who  preach  his  Gospel, 
many  things,  not  perhaps  positively  sinful,  but 
nowise  honorable  to  ])iety,  ^\  ould  be  restrained. 
There  would  be  less  contention,  less  of  the  bit- 
terness of  party  strife,  less  chilling  alienation 
and  neglect,  fewer  local  and  sectional  diflicul- 


THE   EXAMPLE   OF  MINISTERS,  311 

ties,  less  freedom  with  one  another's  reputa- 
tion, less  meddling  with  the  private  concerns 
of  others,  and  more  regard  to  their  feelings  in 
matters  that  are  unimportant.  Our  ecclesiasti- 
cal judicatories  would  present  different  scenes  ; 
we  should  have  less  occasion  to  congratulate 
ourselves  that  the  laws  of  duelling  and  private 
combat  are   unknown  in  the  Church  of  God. 

But  we  need  enlarge  on  such  a  topic.  Whe- 
ther so  serious  a  cause  of  complaint  or  not,  as 
we  have  supposed,  it  is  certain  that  the  disre- 
gard of  Christian  decorum  has  impeded  and 
impaired  the  influence  of  Christian  ministers, 
and  brought  the  name  of  the  pulpit  into  any 
thing  but  good  report. 

We  shall  with  difficulty  be  persuaded,  that 
we  have  given  too  much  importance  to  these 
thoughts  on  the  subject  of  ministerial  example. 
It  is  in  vain  to  talk  about  piety  where  there  is 
not  sterling  value,  and  an  example  that  is  wor- 
thy of  the  Gospel  we  preach.  I  would  allow  a 
minister  every  indulgence  that  is  not  sinful, 
and  that  is  not  hurtful  to  the  souls  of  men. 
I  would  be  bound  by  the  code  of  a  high  mor- 
ality, and  hold  myself  responsible  for  every 
breach  of  it ;  but  I  would  not  be  bound  by 
the  caprices  of  men.  We  should  be  watch- 
ful, even  in  things  that  are  lawful,  not  to  throw 
a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  others.  "  All 
things  are  la^^  ful  for  me,"  says  Paul,  "  but  all 


312  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT, 

tliin«?s  arc  not  expedient."  He  would  not  eat 
the  llesli,  nor  drink  llie  wine  ofl'ered  in  obhition 
on  heathen  altars,  no,  not  "  while  the  world 
standeth,"  if  "  it  caused  his  brother  to  offend." 
There  is  no  part  of  a  minister's  example  that 
may  be  deemed  unimportant,  which  seriously 
affects  the  interests  of  religion  in  the  Avorld. 
We  may  think  little  of  these  things  abstractly ; 
but  they  are  of  great  moment  in  their  bear- 
ing upon  the  cause  of  God.  Men  may  be  fa- 
tally led  astray  by  the  wrong  impressions  they 
receive  from  the  heedless  and  untender  walk  of 
Christian  ministers.  We  may  sometimes  com- 
plain of  restricted  influence,  when  the  fault  is 
our  own.  If  all  the  disciples  of  Christ  ought  to 
be  "living  epistles,  known  and  read  of  all 
men,"  much  more  his  ministers.  We  depre- 
ciate this  method  of  teaching.  Men  are  not  to 
be  instructed  by  records  and  proofs  merely ; 
they  reject  the  divine  testimony  even  when  it 
is  spread  before  their  minds.  But  there  is  one 
species  of  evidence  which  they  find  it  hard  to 
resist ;  it  is  the  consistent  example  of  its  minis- 
ters. There  is  no  preaching  like  a  holy  life. 
It  is  a  death-blow  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
that  fio  many  of  its  ministers  are  ungodly  and 
wicked  men.  No  church  can  prosper  without 
an  exemplary  ministry.  Mitred  heads  and 
apostolical  succession,  are  little  matters  com- 
pared with  "  the  things  that  are  of  good  report." 


THE   EXAMPLE    OP   MINISTERS.  313 

We  are  humbled  in  view  of  some  of  the 
thoughts  we  have  suggested,  and  therefore 
dwell  on  them  perhaps  to  the  weariness  of  our 
readers.  It  is  not  enough  for  ministers  to  be 
men  of  piety  ;  it  must  be  a  piety  that  lives, 
and  acts  itself  out.  Preaching  is  not  piety. 
Men  will  not  give  the  pulpit  credit  for  a  re- 
ligion which  it  does  not  exemplify ; — nor  ought 
they  to  do  so.  It  is  not  the  eloquence  of  the 
pulpit  alone  that  they  look  for.  It  is  the  silent 
eloquence  of  a  heavenly  example.  The  short 
epitaph  inscribed  by  Nazianzen  on  the  tomb 
of  Basil,  was,  "  His  words  were  thunder,  his 
life  lightning."  Where  the  life  of  a  minister 
is  conformed  to  the  law  of  God,  and  illustrates 
the  power  of  his  Gospel ; — where  the  truth  of 
Christ  shines  out  in  the  walk  and  conversa- 
tion;— where  the  whole  testimony  which  a  min- 
ister bears  is  in  favor  of  the  Gospel  he  preaches, 
and  no  part  of  it  is  arra.yed  against  another 
part,  but  all  bears  the  same  witness ; — it  is  not 
easily  denied.  The  pulpit  needs  no  more  ef- 
ficiency than  that  which,  under  the  favor  of 
its  great  Author,  it  possesses  the  means  of  ex- 
erting. Let  it  faithfully  apply  itself  to  these, 
and  it  lives  only  to  bless  the  world.  Its  light 
is  destined  to  shine  not  more  in  acts  of  splen- 
did brilliancy,  than  in  that  steady  uniform 
brightness,  whith  is  lighted  at  the  altar  whicl) 

is  within  the  veil. 

14 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE    RESrOXSIBILITY    OF    MINISTERS. 

The  true  influence  of  the  pulpit  will  be 
found  to  be  intimately  connected  with  deep 
impressions  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of 
those  who  occupy  it.  Every  thing  that  has 
been  suggested  in  the  preceding  pages,  is  iitted 
to  enforce  this  solemn  thought.  Nor  is  it  one 
which  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  can  ever  feel 
too  deeply.  The  office  they  bear,  the  Master 
they  serve,  the  interests  committed  to  them, 
and  the  influence  and  power  they  exert,  throw 
upon  them  a  burden,  of  responsibility  which  is 
borne  by  no  other  class  of  men,  and  will  ren- 
der their  account  at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme 
Judge,  solemn  beyond  any  thing  which  the 
tongue  of  mortals  can  utter.  It  were  no  mar- 
vel if  a  deep  sense  of  this  responsibility  should 
have  deterred  many  a  man  from  entering  the 
desk,  and  made  more  tremble  who  have  ven- 
tured to  enter  it,  and  have  occupied  it  long. 
It  is  a  responsibility  which  diminishes  not  with 
growing  vears  ;  and   which,  could   the  whole 


THE  RESPONSIBILITY-  OP  MINISTERS.  315 

extent  of  it  have  been  anticipated,  would  have 
presented  an  affecting,  if  not  a  fearful  view  to 
many  a  youthful  aspirant  for  the  sacred  office. 

There  is  responsibility  in  being  clothed  with 
an  immortal  existence ;  and  in  being  gifted 
with  powers  and  faculties  of  doing  good  in  the 
humblest  sphere.  There  is  responsibility  in 
the  successful  cultivation  of  those  faculties  and 
powers,  by  familiarity  with  the  works,  and 
providence,  and  truth  of  God,  and  in  the  com- 
municated grace  that  calls  the  foreigner  and 
exile  into  the  divine  family,  and  gives  him  a 
name  better  than  that  of  sons  and  of  daughters. 
But  how  is  this  responsibility  enhanced,  when 
to  all  these  is  added  the  call  of  Heaven  to  a 
work  of  which  the  holiest  are  unworthy,  and 
Heaven's  investiture  with  an  office  which  might 
well  constrain  a  seraph  to  exclaim,  "  Who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things  ?"  Which  of  us 
who  serves  at  the  tabernacle,  is  awake  to  just 
apprehensions  of  this  single  thought !  What 
a  trust  is  this  ministry !  How  solemn  the  ac- 
count whicli  must  be  given  for  it !  If  minis- 
ters remind  others  of  their  responsibility,  may 
they  not,  in  their  turn,  be  also  reminded  of 
theirs  1  If  they  charge  home  their  account- 
ableness  upon  men  of  station  and  wealtli ;  men 
of  lofty  calling,  high  associations,  command- 
ing aulhority,  and  controlling  influence  ;  shall 
not  the    solemn   charge   be  brought   home  to 


316  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT, 

tlicir  own  bosoms,  Avho  stand  before  their  fel- 
low-men as  God's  ambassadors,  and  in  his  name 
show  them  the  wav  of  life  ?  But  for  him  who 
has  called  us,  and  whose  call  we  may  not  dis- 
regard ;  but  for  his  grace  that  is  sufficient  for 
us,  and  his  strength  that  is  made  perfect  in 
human  weakness ;  the  office  of  a  Gospel  minis- 
ter would  be  too  heavy  to  be  borne.  God 
grant,  that  none  of  us  may  find  to  our  cost  that 
we  had  better  have  been  any  thing  else ; — that 
it  had  been  better  for  us  to  liave  been  in- 
trusted v.ith  the  two  talents,  rather  than  the 
five  ; — better  for  us  to  have  exchanged  our 
responsibility  even  with  the  wicked  and  sloth- 
ful servant,  who  hid  his  talent  in  tlie  earth, 
because  it  is  the  one  talent  only  for  which 
he  is  responsible  !  Better,  far  better,  to  be  the 
humble  and  unnoticed  door-keeper  in  God's 
liouse,  than  to  have  occupied  the  most  enviable 
pulpit  in  the  land,  either  for  selfish  and  vile 
ends,  or  not  to  have  occupied  it  with  honesty, 
care,  and  pains. 

There  is  nothins:  which  Christ's  ministers 
are  called  upon  to  watch  over  more  cautiously, 
to  cultivate  more  assiduously,  and  to  exert 
more  wisely  and  benevolently,  than  the  power 
of  the  pulpit.  What  effort,  what  study,  what 
prayer; — what  faithfulness,  what  devotement 
to  God  and  their  work  ; — unwearied,  repeated 
often,  and  repeated  long  aiul  undiscouraged. 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   MINISTERS.  317 

— become  those  who,  from  their  vocation,  ex- 
ert so  much  influence  on  tlie  character,  the 
usefuhiess,  the  deathless  destiny  of  their  fel- 
low-men !  Ministers  will  meet  this  responsi- 
bility at  the  bar  of  God  : — it  will  run  parallel 
with  their  eternity. 

When  I  say  that  I  tremble  for  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  I  can  truly  say,  that  I  tremble 
for  none  more  than  for  myself.  I  would  not 
be  released  from  the  responsibility ;  but  I 
should  be  afraid  to  counsel  any  man  to  seeJc  it, 
who  has  a  hesitatinsf  conscience  or  heart.  The 
harvest  is  great,  "  and  the  laborers  are  few  ;" 
and  I  would  "  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to 
thrust  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest."  I  would 
have  no  man  enter  the  pulpit,  whose  heart  and 
conscience  will  allow  him  to  keep  out  of  it. 
If,  with  an  honest  conscience,  and  a  loving  and 
satisfied  heart,  he  can  keep  out  of  it,  let  him 
stay  where  he  is.  But  if  conscience  urges 
him, — if  a  loving  heart  to  his  redeeming  God 
and  King,  and  to  the  souls  he  has  purchased 
with  his  blood,  constrain  him,  so  that  he  cannot 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  God's  call ;  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord  God,  and  making  mention  of  his 
righteousness,  and  his  only,  let  him  go  to  that 
sacred  calling.  If  the  Master  thus  "  thrusts 
him  forth,"  he  must  go.  With  all  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  work,  he  must  go  to  it,  and 


318  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

trust  implicidy, — trust  constantly, — trust  cheer- 
fully to  the  Master's  promised  grace. 

That  imlpit ! — what  an  attractive, — what  a 
deliii^hirul, — yet  what  a  fearful  spot !  That 
preacher's  breath  is  constantly  touching  some 
secret  spring,  that  shall  set  mind  after  mind  in 
motion,  whose  pulsations  shall  be  felt  when 
the  scenes  of  earth  are  forgotten.  It  is  but  a 
single  spot,  yet  it  speaks  to  a  thousand  gen- 
erations. The  living  testify  to  its  influence, 
and  generations  of  the  dead  lie  scattered 
around  it,  who  will  one  day  rise  up  and  bear 
witness  to  the  mighty  power  which  it  has 
wielded.  What  a  scene  will  that  be,  when 
they  thus  rise  !  Who  is  prepared  for  it  ?  Who 
can  abide  it  ?  Who  may  abide  "  the  day  of 
his  coming  ?"  and  who  shall  stand  when  he 
appeareth  ?  On  that  vast  mass  of  minds,  and 
through  all  the  narrow  pathway  of  this  low 
W'Orld,  that  pulpit  is  exerting  its  silent  influen- 
ces ;  and  as  God  is  just,  he  who  exerts  them 
shall  give  account.  Some  of  the  most  solemn 
and  aifocting  disclosures  of  the  Great  Day  of 
reckoning  will  consist  in  the  discoveries  it 
makes  of  the  influence  of  the  pulpit.  Such  a 
day  will  be  a  fitting  winding  up  of  these  earthly 
scenes.  Small  and  great,  ministers,  and  their 
people,  shall  stand  before  God.  Yes,  it  will 
be  a  fltting  winding  up  of  the  scene,  where 
this  world  has  been  the  selected  spot  for  man's 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   MINISTERS.  319 

education  for  eternity,  and  vviiere  the  sanctu- 
ary and  the  pulpit  have  been  the  selected 
means  of  formiuf?  the  characters  of  men. 

The  inquiry,  Why  the  pulpit  is  often  so 
powerless  ?  is  one  of  great  interest  to  a  labo- 
rious preacher.  We  have  no  desire  to  find 
relief  from  the  responsibilities  which  God 
has  thrown  upon  his  ministers;  yet"  are  there 
some  thoughts  in  relation  to  their  w^ant  of 
success,  which  may  furnish  some  relief  to  that 
depression  of  mind  to  which  they  are  some- 
times subjected. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us,  that  wherever 
the  Gospel  is  faithfully  preached,  it  produces 
widely  different  results.  It  is  in  perfect  ac- 
cordance with  the  nature  of  the  Gospel,  that  it 
should  be  so.  The  truths  which  it  discloses 
cannot  be  faithfully  exhibited  without  making 
impressions,  either  for  good  or  for  evil,  upon 
every  mind  to  which  they  have  access.  Such 
is  man's  intellectual  and  moral  nature,  that 
wdiere  these  truths  are  once  resisted,  they  are 
more  easily  resisted  afterwards,  till  eventually 
the  human  heart  becomes  impregnably  fortified 
in  its  obduracy,  and  is  abandoned  of  God. 
The  same  truths  repeatedly  uttered  and  re- 
jected, serve  only  to  excite  and  invigorate  un- 
hallowed emotions,  to  disturb  lurking  enmity, 
and  to  awaken  slumbering  wickedness.  Men 
never  sin  so  fast  and  with  such  vigor  of  thought 


320  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT, 

and  emotion  ;  tlicy  never  become  so  preco- 
ciously ripe  for  destruction,  and  prematurely 
fuel  for  the  flames  ;  as  when  their  dry  and  fruit- 
less branches  are  spread  out  under  the  resisted 
light,  and  scorching  heat  of  heavenly  truth. 
"  We  are  unto  God,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  a 
sweet  savor  of  Christ  in  them  that  are  saved, 
and  in  them  that  perish.  To  the  one  we  are 
the  savor  of  death  unto  death  :  to  the  other 
we  are  the  savor  of  life  unto  life." 

This  representation  is  abundantly  confirmed 
by  facts.  In  all  ages  thus  far  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  there  have  been  more  who  have 
treated  the  Gospel  wutli  indifference,  oppo- 
sition, and  contempt,  than  have  received  it 
with  confidence,  gratitude  and  joy.  From  the 
preaching  of  Enoch  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Apostles,  and  from  the  preaching  of  the  Apos- 
tles to  the  present  time  ;  so  far  has  it  been  from 
having  had  unmingled  success,  that  while  it 
has  healed  spiritual  maladies  in  all  lands,  it 
has  left  more  unhealed.  Its  ministers  have 
met  with  disappointment,  even  where  they 
had  the  most  sanguine  expectations.  Like 
their  Divine  Master,  they  have  been  "  set  for 
the  rising  and  falling  of  many,"  It  is  not  in 
their  power  to  give  it  success.  God  is  a  Sov- 
ereign in  the  dispensation  of  his  grace ;  "  the 
wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth ;"  and  he  hath 
"  mercy   on    whom    he    will    have    mercy." 


to 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   MINISTERS.  321 

There  are  instances  in  which,  strive  as  much 
and  earnestly  as  they  will  to  fasten  a  sense  of 
guilt  on  the  conscience,  they  leave  it  unaffect- 
ed. They  can  make  no  impression  upon  the 
levity  and  carelessness,  the  callousness  and 
insensate  obduracy  of  the  carnal  mind.  Even 
where  solemn  impressions  are  made,  the  cares 
of  the  world  spring-  up  and  choke  the  word, 
and  the  fairest  promise  is  blighted  in  the  bud. 
They  wield  a  two-edged  sword,  and  where  it 
does  not  wound  to  heal,  it  wounds  but  to  de- 
stroy. . 

Nor  may  this  want  of  "success  be  always 
attributed  to  their  unfaithfulness.  The  in- 
cense of  Paul's  services  was  acceptable  to 
God,  even  where  it  was  the  savor  of  death 
unto  death.  Where  the  message  is  the  mes- 
sage of  God's  truth  and  grace,  the  message  it- 
self is  acceptable  ;  and  where  it  is  faithfully 
delivered,  and  attested  by  a  consistent  life  and 
conversation,  the  Divine  approbation  is  not 
withheld  from  the  messenger.  The  field 
yields  flowers  and  fruit  that  are  swollen  with 
the  dew  and  redolent  w  ith  the  odors  of  hea- 
ven, even  when  trodden  under  the  foot  of 
men.  And  though  in  gathering  the  harvest, 
but  here  and  there  a  sheaf  may  be  found, 
while  the  field  is  covered  with  tares,  the  reap- 
er shall  come  home  with  rejoicing.  He  has 
done  a  work  for  God  which  will   not  be  for- 

14* 


322  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

gotten,  even  thoiigli  liis  sweetest  hopes  have 
suffered  defeat.  Otlier  objects  have  been  ob- 
tained by  liis  ministry  besides  the  salvation 
of  men;  nor  shall  his  faithfulness  lose  its  re- 
ward. 

Jesus  Christ  has  nowhere  commanded  his 
ministers  to  convert  men.  He  has  command- 
ed them  to  preach  his  Gospel ;  to  declare  the 
whole  counsel  of  God,  whether  they  will  hear, 
or  whether  they  will  forbear.  This  is  their 
great  concern,  and  for  this  they  are  respon- 
sible to  their  own  consciences,  to  those  \\\\o 
hear,  and  him  who  sent  them.  It  is  a  sad 
result  indeed,  where  their  message  is  rejected, 
and  one  over  which  ministers  may  well  weep 
in  secret  places.  But  notwithstanding  this, 
their  preaching  has  not  been  lost.  His  great 
and  glorious  character  who  sent  them,  shines 
forth  ;  his  claims  have  been  asserted  ;  and  all 
that  is  pure  in  his  rectitude,  alluring  in  his 
mercy,  fearful  in  his  wrath,  and  discriminating 
in  his  sovereign  dominion,  have,  through  their 
instrumentality,  been  seen  and  acknowledged. 
God  is  glorified  in,  and  by  his  faithful  minis- 
ters, though  they  make  hard  hearts  harder, 
and  blind  eyes  blinder.  Every  faithful  exhi- 
bition of  his  Gospel  makes  known  to  this 
thoughtless  world  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God, 
according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  makes  it  known 


THE    RESPONSIBILITY   OF    MINISTERS.  323 

too,  even  where  its  results  are  so  lamenta- 
ble, to  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places. 

But  while  v,  e  say  these  things,  we  maj  not 
suppress  the  remark,  that  the  powerlessness  of 
the  pulpit  is  in  too  many  instances  to  be  at- 
tributed to  ministers  themselves.  If  in  so  say- 
ing, the  writer  reproaches  himself,  he  has  no 
wish  to  j'epel  the  reproach  which  may  be  due 
to  him  in  common  with  others,  or  even  beyond 
them.  Men  may  preach  the  truth  with  all 
plainness  and  fidelity,  whose  own  bosoms  are 
not  v.armed  by  it.  They  may  preach  for  sin- 
ister and  selfisli  ends,  rather  than  that  God 
may  be  exalted.  They  may  be  weak  and  un- 
interesting preachers,  because  they  bestow  lit- 
tle time,  or  thought,  or  prayer  upon  their  prep- 
arations for  the  pulpit.  They  may  loiter  the 
Aveek  away,  and  the  blessed  day  of  God  which 
they  ought  to  hail  with  joy,  finds  them  embar- 
rassed and  unfitted  for  their  work.  Weeks 
and  years,  and  a  life  of  toil,  is  what  they  may 
not  think  of;  their  great  object  may  be  to  avoid 
the  more  weighty  responsibilities  of  their  call- 
ing, and  their  ingenuity  tasked  to  its  utmost  to 
find  out  expedients  by  which  they  may  meet 
these  responsibilities  with  the  least  labor.  Or 
if  they  are  men  of  toil,  it  may  be  for  themselves 
they  are  toiling;  it  may  be  for  place,  for  fame, 
for  care  and  competency,  and  not  for  Christ 


324  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

and  (lie  souls  of  men.  They  have  no  heartfelt 
impressions  of  tlie  condition  of  those  who  are 
living  witliout  God  and  witliout  hope,  and  no 
deep  solicitude  to  lead  them  to  repentance. 
Or  if  they  have  these  sympathies,  they  are 
eA-anescent  as  the  dew.  They  have  little  con- 
fidence in  God,  and  little  of  that  joy  in  him 
Avhich  is  the  strength  of  his  ministers,  as  well 
as  his  people.  The  great  object  of  their  holy 
vocation  does  not  fill  their  minds,  engross  their 
thoughts,  and  draw  toward  it  their  strongest 
and  most  ardent  affections.  And  it  is  no  mar- 
vel that  such  preachers  complain  of  little  suc- 
cess. 

These  are  affecting  and  humblinof  thoughts. 
Were  those  of  us  who  minister  at  the  altar 
more  in  the  habit  of  inspecting  ourselves,  and 
searching  our  hearts,  we  should  have  less  diffi- 
culty in  ascertaining  the  causes  of  a  fruitless 
ministry.  But  everlasting  thanks  to  him  to 
whom  they  are  diie,  it  is  not  in  the  unbelief  of 
his  ministers,  to  "  make  the  faith  of  God  of  no 
effect !"  His  gracious  designs  will  not  be  frus- 
trated. Let  the  thought  encourage  his  minis- 
ters that  they  plead  for  God,  as  well  as  for  the 
souls  of  men.  So  far  as  they  are  faithful,  his 
aims  and  theirs  are  one.  O  that  we  might 
more  deeply  feel  the  importance  of  the  position 
we  occupy,  the  Avork  to  which  we  are  called, 
and  the  vows  that  are  upon  us !     Paul  said  to 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   MINISTERS.  325 

the  Corintliiaiis,  "  I  was  with  you  in  weakness, 
and  in  fear,  and  in  timch  Ircmbling.''  Little  do 
they  know  the  heart  of  God's  ministers,  who  do 
not  suppose  that  it  habitually  responds  to  this 
consciousness.  If  ministers  are  made  to  feel 
their  own  insufficiency,  and  if  the  churches  are 
made  to  feel  the  insufficiency  of  their  ministers, 
it  is  that  both  may  learn  that  their  help  cometh 
from  God.  • 

There  is  great,  nay  unspeakable  joy  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry  when  it  is  attended  with 
the  power  of  God  ;  but  let  it  not  be  said  that  it 
is  ever  joyless.  It  were  indeed  a  privilege  to 
be  able  to  say  with  Paul,  "Thanks  be  to  God 
who  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ, 
and  maketh  manifest  the  savor  of  his  knowl- 
edge by  us  in  every  place.  And  had  we  his 
spirit,  we  should  oftener  say  with  him,  "  as  sor- 
rowful, yet  always  rejoicing."  If  we  may  for- 
get ourselves  in  thinking  of  our  work,  much 
more  may  we  forget  ourselves  in  thinking  of 
our  Divine  Master.  We  should  be  happy  min- 
isters then,  even  though  not  always  successful. 
And  should  we  not  be  more  successful  ?  •  And 
then  what  joys  ! — no  longer  transient,  no  longer 
few  and  small,  but  rich  and  plenteous,  drop- 
ping from  heaven  like  the  dew,  coming  down 
like  the  rain,  flowing  like  rivers  wdiose  banks 
are  full  to  the  brim ! 

When  ministers  are  most  discouraged,  they 


32G  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

rarely  iiltcr  tlicir  discouragements  to  tlie  ear  of 
man.  They  often  feel  that  they  stand  alone, 
but  rarely  do  they  burden  their  people  with 
their  apprehensions ;  their  course  is  a  silent 
and  uncom]>laining  course.  Cut  never  ought 
it  to  be  a  discouraged  one, — no,  never.  Let 
none  of  these  things  move  us, — neither  let  us 
count  our  lives  dear  to  ourselves,  so  that  we 
may  finish  our  course  with  joy,  and  the  minis- 
try we  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to 
testify  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

It  is  a  wise  arrangement  of  Divine  Prov- 
idence, that  "  one  generation  passcth  away, 
rtnd  another  cometh."  The  time  cannot  be 
long  before  the  writer  must  retire  from  the 
field  of  labor,  and  leave  it  fresh  and  ripe  for  a 
glorious  harvest.  lie  knows  the  distance  he 
has  journeyed,  and  the  path  he  is  treading. 
He  has  bright  anticipations  of  what  is  to  take 
place  when  he  himself  is  numbered  with  the 
forgotten  dead.  These  days  of  declension  and 
darkness  will  not  continue  long.  If  it  were 
right  that  he  should  do  so,  he  could  envy  the 
youthful  ministry  of  reconciliation,  ^vho  are 
entering  upon  their  work  at  a  period  so  rich  in 
promise.  The  clouds  of  mercy  are  gathering 
thick  over  this  lost  world  ; — the  times  are  full 
of  promise  ; — this  long  protracted  slumber  is 
breaking  up  ; — there  are  those  now  alive,  and 
on  the  earth,  who  will  see  the  signs  of  the  Son 


TliE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   MINISTERS.  327 

of  Man  coming  in  power  and  great  glory.  Sucli 
a  scene  as  is  allotted  to  those  who  are  just  put- 
ting on  their  armor,  is  cheerless  only  when  it 
is  neglected.  Nothing  so  certainly  as  cheer- 
ful toil,  and  a  cheerful  faith  in  things  not  seen 
as  yet,  will  become  a  sweeter,  and  yet  more 
sweet  preparative  for  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

A    COMPETENT    MINISTRY    TO    BE    PROCURED. 

The  remaining  topic  of  discussion  introdu- 
ces us  to  a  series  of  observations  of  a  differ- 
ent character  from  those  to  which  our  attention 
has  been  thus  fiir  directed. 

If  what  has  been  already  suggested  be  true, 
it  is  truth  of  no  small  importance.  If  the  pul- 
pit has  the  inlluence  which  has  been  attributed 
to  it;  if  by  Divine  appointment,  it  possesses 
constituent  elements  of  influence  which  belong 
to  no  other  institution ; — if  by  a  wise,  diligent, 
and  humble  consecration  of  themselves  to  its 
appropriate  services,  those  who  occupy,  may 
employ  it  in  securing  the  noblest  results  ever 
effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  crea- 
tures; there  are  obligations  resting  upon  the 
Church  of  God,  and  upon  the  world,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Christian  ministry,  which  have  not 
always  been  appreciated,  nor  even  duly  con- 
sidered. What  obligations  rest  upon  the  min- 
istry themselves,  we  have  seen  : — they  are 
weighty  beyond  measure.     Ministers  are  often 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        329 

tempted  to  shrink  from  the  responsibility,  and 
many  a  time  feel  that  it  is  a  burden  too  heavy 
to  be  borne.  But  are  they  alone  in  this  re- 
sponsibility ?  are  there  no  corresponding  obli- 
gations resting  upon  the  Church,  and  the  world 
around  them  ?  The  people  and  the  ministry  are 
correlative  terms; — they  compose  the  entire 
population  of  Christian  lands ;  nor  is  there 
any  obligation  resting  upon  the  latter,  without 
a  correllative  obligation  on  the  former.  What 
tlien  are  the  ohUgations  of  the  people,  in  view  of 
the  relation  they  hear  to  the  Christian  ministry  ? 

The  most  general  and  comprehensive  thought 
which  suggests  itself  in  reply  to  this  inquiry, 
is,  that  the  ministry  must,  from  time  to  time,  be 
supplied  by  the  people  themselves.  We  look  over 
the  earth,  and  see  that  it  is  most  imperfectly 
supplied  with  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Death 
is  making  perpetual  inroads  upon  the  number 
of  living  teachers  :  "  the  '  fathers  ;' — where 
are  they  ?  and  the  propliets,  do  they  live  for- 
ever ?"  In  a  little  while  the  present  genera- 
tion of  ministers  will  have  passed  away ;  nor 
will  any  be  found  to  take  their  places,  without 
suitable  forethought,  prayer,  and  effort,  on  the 
part  of  those  to  whom  the  duty  of  procuring 
this  supply  belongs.  The  all-wise  and  gra- 
cious God  made  provision  for  this  supply  under 
the  Hebrew  dispensation,  by  making  the  priest- 
hood hereditary  ;  but  this  law  is  no  longer  bind- 


330  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

ing;  the  liigh  privilege  is  now  oflered  to  all 
the  families  in  Christian  lands,  to  aid  in  fur- 
nishing a  perishing  world  with  a  competent 
supply  of  Christian  ministers.  No  department 
of  the  Christian  Church  possesses  this  exclu- 
sive privilege  ;  nor  does  the  obligation  rest  ex- 
clusively on  any  one  tribe,  or  family,  or  man. 
It  is  a  common  privilege,  and  a  common  duty ; 
and  becomes  specific  only  as  the  thoughts,  and 
prayers,  and  efforts  of  any  particular  commu- 
nity, or  individual,  are  directed  to  this  great 
object,  or  the  providence  of  God  imposes  upon 
them  peculiar  obligations.  But  whose  thoughts, 
and  prayers,  and  efforts  ought  not  to  be  directed 
towards  it  ?  Who  shall  ask  to  be  released 
from  the  obligation  of  directing  his  inquiries, 
to  a  subject  of  such  interest  ?  I  know  not  the 
church,  nor  the  family,  nor  the  man  who  can 
be  released  from  this  obligation. 

It  may  not  be  unseasonable  to  enter  here 
somewhat  into  detail,  and  specify  those  classes 
of  persons,  and  those  individuals,  on  whom  this 
obligation  is  most  sacredly  imposed. 

It  rests,  in  the  first  place,  on  the  Christian 
ministers  themselves.  That  great  law  of  the  Jew- 
ish Church,  that  the  priesthood  should  be  he- 
reditary, though  abolished,  is  yet  not  without 
meaning.  It  is  in  some  sort,  the  law  of  nature, 
that  the  child  should  follow  the  calling  of  his 
parent.     He  may  be  supposed  to  have  facilities 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        331 

and  a  training  for  such  a  vocation  which  are 
peculiar,  and  sucli  as  are  not  enjoyed  by  other 
classes  of  men.     To  what  extent  the  Christian 
ministry  in  other  lands  has  been  supplied  from 
the  families  of  Christian  ministers,  I  am  not  ex- 
tensively informed ;  the  history  of  the  Ameri- 
can church  abundantly  indicates,  that  this  has 
been  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  this  supply. 
Let  any  man  carefully  inspect  such  a  work  as 
"  Allen's  Biographical  Dictionary  of  the  Lives 
of  Eminent  Men  in  North  America,"  or  the 
"  American  Quarterly  Register,"  and   he  will 
be  both  surprised  and  gratified  to  see,  to  what 
extent  the  Christian  pulpit  has  been  supplied 
from  the   families  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
Not  far  from  seventy  ministers  in  the  American 
church  can  trace  their  lineage  to  the  elder  Ed- 
wards ;  he  himself  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman ; 
and  his  earliest  known  ancestor  was  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  settled  in  London  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth.      There    are   ministers  now  living 
among  us,  who  can  trace   their  genealogy  to 
five,  and  some  to  six  generations,  in  a  direct, 
unbroken  line,  to  the  house  of  Levi.     Others 
there  are,  who  have  been  permitted  to  intro- 
duce, some  two,  some  three,  and  some  five  of 
their  sons,  to  the  same  sacred  vocation  with 
themselves.     We  should  probably  be  not  a  lit- 
tle  surprised  by  our  inquiries  into  the   lineal 
descent  of  the  living  ministry,  to  ascertain  that 


332  THE    POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

such  multitiulcs  of  them  are  the  sons  of  those 
Avho  themselves  served  at  God's  altars.  After 
some  considerable  research  and  correspondence 
on  this  subject,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  more  than  one-fifth  part  of  all  the  minis- 
ters in  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
churches  in  this  land  are  of  ministerial  descent. 
Here  then,  this  obligation,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
primarily  rests.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  have 
peculiar  opportunities  for  meeting  the  claims  of 
the  world  in  this  great  article  of  its  exigencies. 
From  their  birth,  their  sons  should  be  devoted 
to  God  for  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  for  this 
great  work  they  should  be  offered  to  him  in 
holy  baptism;  for  this  they  should  be  cared 
for,  and  educated,  and  become  the  subjects  of 
earnest  and  ceaseless  prayer.  It  is  a  great 
privilege,  and  wondrous  mercy,  when  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest  condescends  to  accept  the  offer- 
ing; the  most  faithful  and  devoted  minister  is 
not  worthy  of  this  high  honor ;  while  they  from 
whom  such  an  offering  is  not  accepted,  and 
whose  prayers  in  this  particular  remain  unan- 
swered, and  whose  highest  hopes  for  their  sons 
are  not  realized,  can  only  "  lay  their  hand  upon 
their  mouth."  There  is  no  breach  of  God's 
covenant  faithfulness  in  denying  us  this  distin- 
guished blessing :  nor  is  it  sovereignty  merely 
that  denies  it;  it  is  equity,  it  is  justice;  and 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        333 

we  have  only  to  bow  to  it  in  submission  and 
silence. 

It  is  no  unimportant  part  of  the  official  and 
pastoral  supervision  of  ministers  also,  to  look 
over  the  young  men  of  their  respective  charges, 
and  seek  out,  and  direct,  and  encourage  those 
who  give  evidence  of  piety  and  fitness  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  It  was  one  of  the  indica- 
ions  of  God's  presence  with  the  people  whom 
the  writer  of  these  pages  has  been  permitted  to 
serve  in  the  Gospel,  that  for  a  series  of  years, 
not  a  few  beloved  youth  among  us  were  in  con- 
stant training  for  this  great  work ;  and  from 
year  to  year,  went  out  from  us  to  preach  the 
everlasting  Gospel.  And  it  is  among  the  indi- 
cations of  our  mournful  declension,  that  for  a 
series  of  years  last  past,  there  has  been  but  a 
solitary  individual.  Every  church  in  the  land 
ought  to  have  at  least  one  young  man  of  their 
own  number,  who  enjoys  the  benefit  of  their 
sympathy,  their  counsels,  and  their  prayers ; 
and  who,  under  these  delightful  and  cove- 
nanted influences,  goes  forth  to  proclaim  the 
''unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  That  church 
cannot  be  in  a  healthful  condition,  which  can 
find  no  individual  of  suitable  character,  for  the 
ministry  of  the  Gospel  among  them ;  or  who  if 
found,  is  suffered  to  languish  through  lack  of 
their  Christian  sympathy. 

But  while  this  duty  begins  with  those  who 


334  THE   POWER  OP   THE    PULPIT. 

minister  in  God's  sanctuary,  it  ends  not  there. 
There  are  not  a  few  Christian  families  in  every 
congregation,  whom  it  becomes  to  devote  some 
one,  or  more  of  their  sons  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  This  is  the  second  great  source  of 
supply.  Were  all  the  sons  of  all  the  ministers 
in  the  land,  to  become  ministers,  the  supply 
would  still  be  inadequate.  And  where  shall 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  look  for  it,  but 
to  the  families  of  his  own  people  !  The  Bible 
defines  who  are  the  families  of  his  own  people: 
they  are  the  families  where  both,  or  one  of  its 
united  head,  is  the  professed  disciple  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  believing  husband  may  not  say, 
the  Saviour  does  not  expect  this  offering  from 
me,  because  he  is  associated  with  an  unbelieving 
wife ;  nor  may  the  believing  wife  say,  he  will 
not  accept  it  from  me,  because  she  is  associated 
with  an  unbelieving  husband.  Such  is  the 
bounty,  the  generosity  of  God's  love,  that  the 
covenant  relation  to  him  and  his  Church,  of 
every  such  family,  is  decided  by  the  believing, 
and  not  the  unbelieving  parent.  This  is  a 
most  wonderful  and  gracious  arrangement,  and 
so  full  of  encouragement,  that  the  believing 
parent  cannot  hope  too  much  from  God  for  his 
or  her  children.  The  irreligion  that  is  in  a 
family  may  throw  obstacles  not  a  few,  to  the 
religious  culture  of  the  rising  generation ;  but 
because  the  religion  that  is  there  is   of  God's 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        335 

planting,  his  faithfulness  is  pledged  to  sustain 
and  give  it  influence.  How  certainly,  and 
how  much  more  does  this  obligation  rest  upon 
families  whose  hearts  are  bound  together  not 
only  by  the  purest  of  all  earthly  love,  but  by 
the  common  bond  of  that  love  which  is  heaven- 
born  and  unearthly  ?  He  who  "  sets  the  soli- 
tary in  families  and  makes  their  children  like 
olive  plants  round  about  their  table,"  may 
peradventure  claim  some  one  of  those  he  has 
given  you  for  tlie  ministry  of  his  Son.  It  may 
be  tha.t  tlie  "  Lord  hath  need  of  him."  Is 
there  not  one  among  them  all  whom  you  can 
cheerfully  consecrate  to  him  for  this  self-deny- 
ing and  high  service  ?  and  of  whom  you  can 
say,  with  Hannah,  Avhen  she  stood  praying  in 
the  temple,  "  He  shall  be  lent  to  the  Lord,  as 
long  as  he  liveth  ?"  Are  they  more  ambitious 
views  that  you  are  indulghig,  and  a  more  lofty 
station  tliat  you  are  looking  for  on  behalf  of 
the  son  of  your  vows  ?  For  one  I  cannot  sym- 
pathize with  you  in  such  views.  Had  I  a  son, 
qualified  for  this  high  service,  self-denying  as 
I  know  it  to  be,  I  would  rather  see  him  an 
humble,  and  faithful  minister  of  the  ever  bles- 
sed Gospel,  than  at  the  head  of  the  bar,  or  the 
most  distinguished  professor  of  the  healing  art, 
or  at  the  head  of  the  most  successful  mer- 
cantile house  in  the  land.  It  is  incumbent  on 
Christian   fimilies  deliberately  to  look  at  this 


336  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

grave  subject.  The  Cliurcli  of  God  is  clear  to 
him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye ;  yet  how  few  are 
"  there  to  miide  her  among  all  the  sons  whom 
she  hath  brought  forth  :  how  few  to  take  her 
by  the  hand  of  all  the  sons  that  she  hath 
brought  up  !"  God  may  not  accept  your  offer- 
ing ;  yet  go,  in  the  humility  of  faith,  and  in 
the  strength  of  dependence  on  his  grace,  make 
the  offering  at  his  throne.  Nor  let  your  child 
long  remain  ignorant  of  these  secret  transac- 
tions between  you  and  your  Maker.  Let  him 
know  that  if  he  breaks  away  from  God,  and 
refuses  to  enter  the  ministry  of  his  Son,  he 
countervails  your  most  ardent  expectations  and 
vows.  Often  remind  him  that  he  is  "  lent  to 
the  Lord  ;"  educate  him  in  his  fear ;  and  who 
shall  say  that  he  will  not  abundantly  bless 
your  offering,  and  in  "  filling  his  poor  with 
bread"  through  your  instrumentality,  also  fill 
your  own  heart  with  joy. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

[same  subject  continued.] 
ministry  compared  with  other  professions. 

A  THIRD  source  of  supply  for  the  Christian 
ministry,  must  be  found  in  those  ijomig  men  of 
piety  and  talent,  loho  are  already  educated,  or  in 
a  course  of  education  for  the  other  learned  pro- 
fessions. When  God  commanded  Moses  to 
deliver  his  message  to  Pharaoh,  Moses  replied, 
"  O  my  Lord,  send  I  pray  thee  by  the  hand  of 
him  whom  thou  wilt  send ;"  but  by  this  an- 
swer the  anger  of  God  was  kindled  against  his 
timid  and  reluctant  servant.  We  liave  no 
desire  to  see  every  pious  and  well-educated 
man  employed  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel, 
nor  is  every  such  man  qualilied  for  the  service. 
Such  men  are  needed  elsewhere,  as  well  as 
in  the  sacred  ministry.  Yet  ought  the  ques- 
tion to  be  deliberately  presented  to  the  mind 
of  every  well-qualified  young  man,  Wliether 
he  can  the  better  serve  God  and  his  generation  by 
engaging  in  some  one  of  the  other  learned  pro* 

15 


338  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

fessions,  or  in  the  ministry  of  his  Son  ?  This  is 
the  only  question  wliich  a  conscientious  man 
will  look  at.  Private  interests  must  be  laid 
aside,  and  this  single  question  considered,  in 
the  light  of  God's  truth,  God's  providence,  and 
the  realities  of  eternity. 

There  is  no  miraculous  call  at  this  age  of  the 
world,  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Whether 
one  is  called  to  it,  is  neither  more  nor  less, 
tlian  whether,  upon  a  full  view  of  the  subject, 
it  is  his  dutij  to  enter  it.  Like  every  other 
question  of  duty,  this  is  to  be  decided  by  those 
leadings  of  Divine  Providence,  which  indicate 
to  an  ingenuous  and  obedient  mind,  what  his 
Heavenly  Father  would  have  him  to  do.  What 
are  these  indications  ?  Are  they  not  a  heart 
sincerely  devoted  to  the  service  of  God, — an 
honest  purpose  of  living  to  his  glory, — a  willing- 
ness to  be  devoted  to  him,  in  that  way  in 
which  we  may  probably  perform  the  most  es- 
sential service, — together  with  those  natural 
talents  and  opportunities  and  means,  that  fit 
us  for  this  employment.  To  be  conscious  of 
these  things,  or  to  have  a  prevailing  conscious- 
ness of  them,  must  go  very  far  toward  produc- 
ing the  conviction  in  every  honest  mind,  that 
the  best  service  he  can  perform,  is  to  honor  his 
Maker  by  preaching  the  Gospel  of  his  Son.  It 
will  be  very  dilhcult  to  keep  such  a  man  out  of 
the  ministry ;  his  conscience  calls  him  to  it ; 


\ 


A   COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED.        339 

his  heart  calls  him  to  it ;  God  calls  him  to  it ; 
and  unless  obstacles  which  cannot  be  sur- 
mounted obstruct  his  path,  he  must  obey  the 
call.  Yet  is  this  conviction  not  the  creature  of 
mere  impulse  ;  a  mere  impression,  produced  by 
supposed  supernatural  influences.  It  is  just 
the  deliberate  conviction  of  a  devout  mind, 
adopted  in  full  view  of  all  the  light  it  can  ob- 
tain, after  having  sought  counsel  of  God  and 
man,  and  after  no  small  schooling  and  self-dis- 
cipline. Many  a  young  man  has  entered  the 
ministry  under  the  influence  of  mere  impulse, 
whom  a  little  experience  has  taught  that  he  is 
not  fitted  for  this  laborious  employment.  It 
may  be  with  reluctance  and  some  mortification 
that  he  abandons  it ;  but  if  he  perseveres  in  a 
service  to  which  God  has  not  called  him,  it 
must  be  with  a  discouraged  heart.  What  the 
Saviour  said  to  those  who  followed  him  with- 
out anticipating  the  sacrifice  of  so  doing,  may 
with  stronger  propriety  and  greater  emphasis, 
be  said  to  every  young  man  who  is  directing 
his  thoughts  tov/ard  the  Gospel  ministry. — 
"  Which  one  of  you,  intending  to  build  a  tower, 
sitteth  not  dovv^n  first  and  counteth  the  cost  V 

These  remarks  may  not  be  turned  to  good 
account  by  all  who  read  them.  The  object  of 
them  is  not  to  discourage  young  men  from  en- 
tering the  sacred  office  ;  but  rather  to  encour- 
age.    Tlie  unhappiness  is,  that  they  may  pre- 


340  THE  POWER  OP  THE   PULPIT. 

sent  discouragement  to  the  very  minds  wliicli 
they  ought  to  encourage  and  stimulate.  Like 
the  discriminations  between  genuine  and  spu- 
rious piety,  the  dart  which  was  aimed  at  the 
false  professor  is  felt  most  deeply  by  the  more 
diffident  and  humble.  Self-diffidence  is  no 
proof  that  a  man  is  not  called  to  the  sacred  of- 
fice ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  one  of  the  more 
welcome  and  delightful  indications  that  God  de- 
signs him  for  a  service  in  which  "  he  that  plant- 
eth  is  nothing  and  he  that  watereth  is  nothing." 

Among  the  considerations  which  ought  to 
operate  on  every  man  who  is  balancing  this 
great  question,  we  place  in  the  foremost  rank 
the  power  of  the  pulpit,  and  the  intrinsic  impor- 
tance of  the  Gospel  ministry.  We  do  not  depre- 
ciate other  departments  of  human  labor,  nor 
other  professional  vocations ;  we  would  that 
they  were  all  occupied  by  godly  men.  We 
honor  them  all  and  have  reason  to  honor  them. 
There  is  a  vast  amount  of  splendid  talent,  and 
acquirement,  and  not  unfrequently  acquire- 
ments, and  talent,  that  are  sanctified  and  de- 
voted to  good  ends,  brought  to  all  the  learned 
professions. 

It  is  greatly  desirable  that  our  universities 
and  colleges  should  be  under  the  teaching  of 
men  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christi- 
anity. Where  this  service  has  attractions  for 
the  Christian  mind,  we  would   be  slow  to  en- 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        341 

tertain  the  doubt,  if  such  a  mind  is  in  its  proper 
place,  in  the  instruction  of  the  young.  It  is  a 
most  delightful  fact  that  so  many  men  of  high 
qualifications  for  their  office,  are  found  in  our 
seminaries  of  learning,  who  are  not  less  the 
honored  professors  of  Christianity,  than  of  liter- 
ature and  science.  Nobly  in  our  youthful  land 
are  such  professors  doing  their  exalted  work, 
and  winning  their  unwithered  laurels.  Long 
may  they  do  so,  and  cast  their  honors  at  his 
feet  who  was  crowned  with  thorns ! 

The  medical  profession  in  all  its  branches, 
has  deserved  attractions.  From  the  dexterous 
manaijement  of  magical  incantation  of  ancient 
times,  to  the  more  sober  investigation  of  times 
less  ancient,  and  the  still  more  solid  deductions 
of  the  inductive  philosophy  which  have  been 
extended  to  the  study  of  the  animal  economy  in 
our  own  days,  this  department  furnishes  a  beau- 
tiful and  brilliant  comment  upon  that  spirit  of 
accurate  observation  and  unwearied  research, 
of  which  there  are  so  many  living  and  illustri- 
ous examples.  A  Christian  physician  is  an  or- 
nament to  his  race,  and  treads  in  the  steps  of 
that  great  and  Almighty  Healer,  whose  mira- 
cles of  healing  were  the  precursors  and  attend- 
ants of  his  miracles  of  salvation.  Many  there 
are  of  this  character  in  the  land ;  it  is  deeply 
to  be  regretted  they  are  so  few ;  and  that  in  so 


342  THE    POWER  OF   THE  PULPIT. 

learned  a  profession,  tliey  are  so  many  who  ex- 
ert a  neutralizing  inlluence  upon  Christianity. 

Of  Law,  says  the  great  Hooker,  "  there  can 
be  no  less  acknowledged,  than  that  her  seat  is 
the  bosom  of  God,  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the 
world  :  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her 
homage,  the  very  least  as  seeking  her  care, 
and  the  greatest  as  not  exempt  from  her  power. 
Both  angels  and  men,  and  creatures  of  what 
condition  soever,  though  each  in  a  different 
sort  and  name,  yet  all  with  one  uniform  con- 
sent, admiring  her  as  the  mother  of  their  peace 
and  joy."  I  have  w^ondercd  how  there  could 
be  an  unchristian  law^yer.  If  the  poet  could 
say,  "  an  undevout  astronomer  is  mad  ;"  what 
shall  be  said  of  the  man  whose  professional 
vocation  leads  him  to  define  and  vindicate  the 
rights  of  his  fellow-men,  who  is  heedless  of 
the  rights  of  his  Maker  ?  What  shall  be  said 
of  him  who  best  understands  those  great  rules 
of  action,  commanding  what  is  right,  and  for- 
bidding what  is  wrong,  who,  in  his  vast  range 
of  thought,  overlooks  the  law^  of  God  ? 

I  well  remember  the  time  when  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law  was  not  so  exalted  and 
honored  a  profession  as  it  now  is.  It  is,  and 
ever  since  the  Revolution,  has  been  a  lars:e 
body  of  men,  embracing  a  great  variety  of  ■ 
moral  and  religious  character;  so  that  no 
general  affirmation  relating  to  it  would  be  free 


A  COMPETENT   MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED.        343 

from  exposure  to  plausible  criticism.  If  the 
men  of  eminence  in  this  profession  may  he  re- 
garded as  the  most  probable  representatives 
of  the  mass,  the  lawyers  of  the  two  generations 
which  have  passed  since  the  declaration  of 
our  independence,  may  fairly  be  distributed  as 
those  who  were  in  the  height  of  their  influence 
for  the  twenty  years  immediately  after  the 
Revolution,  and  those  who  now,  and  for  the 
last  twenty  years  have  been  prominent.  Of 
the  earlier  class  it  may  be  said,  that  they 
were  highly  educated;  were  polished  gentle- 
men ;  were  very  learned  and  of  remarkable 
ability.  But  they  were  not  men  of  the  highest 
and  purest  morality,  and  were  very  greedy  of 
the  gains  of  the  profession.  This  is  not  univer- 
sally true,  but  it  is  true  in  the  main  ;  and  every 
one  who  will  inspect  the  character  of  the  class 
will  satisfy  himself  of  the  truth  of  the  remark. 
As  to  the  prominent  members  of  the  bar  of  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  the  present  day,  w^e 
may  say  with  truth  that  in  integrity,  in  purity 
of  life,  in  general  moral  character,  and  in  con- 
sistent, re  ligious  profession  and  conduct,  they 
are  far  superior  to  their  predecessors.  They  are 
not  inferior  in  ability ;  they  are  scarcely  their 
equals  in  learning,  finished  manners,  or  in  that 
brilliancy  which  attracts  the  general  admira- 
tion. The  improvement  in  the  character  of 
the    bar,  in  this    country,  has  probably   been 


^^^ 


344  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

greatly  promoted  by  the  Law  Schools  formed 
ill  various  parts  of  the  country  after  the  model 
of  tlie  Institution  in  Litchfield,  All  these 
schools  have  exerted  an  elevatinj^  moral  in- 
fluence, and  some  of  them  an  influence  that  is 
truly  Christian.  Reeves,  Kent,  and  Greenleaf 
deserve  well  of  the  American  churches.  Young 
men  thus  destined  to  the  bar  have  been  placed 
at  once  at  the  pure  fountains  of  those  legal 
principles,  and  those  considerations  of  truth, 
justice,  public  policy,  and  refined  equity,  of 
which  the  science  of  the  Law  is  composed. 
Their  intimacy  with  these  principles  has  most 
favorably  influenced  their  character.  In  no 
aspect  has  scientific  education  produced  better 
results  than  in  the  influence  it  has  exerted  on 
the  bar  of  the  United  States;  wdiich,  for  its 
high  position  in  moral  and  religious  character, 
has  no  superior.  In  no  land  does  this  profession 
deserve  the  name  of  a  Christian  profession,  so 
truly  as  in  our  own.  To  an  extent  altogether 
unknown  in  the  English  and  Scottish  courts,  the 
most  distinguished  jurists,  in  very  many  of  these 
States,  both  on  the  bench,  and  at  the  bar,  are 
professedly  Christian  men,  and  exert  an  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  Christianity.  As  a  useful  and 
benevolent  employment,  a  Christian  may  well 
confess  that  this  profession  has  strong  allure- 
ments; while,  as  an  employment  for  cultivated 
intellect,  it  possesses,  in  the  extent  of  its  re- 


A   COMPETENT   MINISTRY   TO   BE   PROCURED.        345 

searches,  and  in  the  accuracy  and  precision  of 
its  discriminations,  elements  of  a  most  enviable 
kind.  Few  subjects  present  a  more  noble  ex- 
pression of  the  comprehensive,  and  at  the  same 
time,  the  analytical  powers  of  the  human  mind, 
than  the  study  of  the  law  in  all  its  branches, 
and  in  its  gradual  advancement. 

If  from  the  law,  we  look  to  the  profession 
of  a  States7nan,  we  may  not  deny  that  it  has 
attractive  inducements.  An  enlightened  Chris- 
tian statesman,  I  am  very  sorry  to  say,  is  a  rare 
character  among  the  men  of  our  own  times. 
There  is  too  much  in  the  profession  that  is  cor- 
rupting to  the  human  heart; — too  much  to  fire 
ambition,  and  generate  intrigue  ; — too  much  to 
cherish  the  love  of  money  and  the  love  of 
power ; — too  much  of  rivalry  and  party  strife, 
to  render  it  a  safe  position  for  a  follower  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  aspire  after.  A  Christian  man 
may  be  a  statesman  ;  but  if  he  aims  at  this  per- 
ilous position,  he  transplants  himself  from  a 
soil  refreshed  by  the  waters  of  the  sanctuary, 
to  a  mountain  of  snow,  or  to  the  bleak  rock 
that  is  Avashed  by  the  spray  of  the  ocean.  He 
will  scarcely  flourish  like  the  palm-tree,  or 
grow  like  the  cedar  in  Lebanon.  The  arena 
of  political  agitation  must  be  a  different  tiling 
from  what  it  is,  to  allow  us  to  say  of  it,  that 
for  the  gratification  of  enlightened  intellect, 
enlarged  views,  and  more  than  all,  that  public 


31G  THE  powr.n  OF  Tin:  pulpit. 

spirit  which  is  the  prominent  feature  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  science  of  government  furnishes  a 
desirable  spliere  of  thought  and  labor. 

We  are  not  unwilling  that  the  claims  of 
other  professions  should  be  canvassed ;  while 
we  have  ventured  to  speak  as  we  have  spoken 
for  God  and  his  sanctuary.  Do  we  need  to 
crave  indulgence  from  our  learned  and  profes- 
sional readers,  when  we  say,  that,  with  all  the 
attractions  of  other  professions,  it  is  the  priv- 
ilege, even  of  the  humblest,  and  the  meanest 
occupant  of  the  pulpit,  to  claim  for  it  a  superi- 
ority over  them  all. 

This  superiority  belongs  to  it,  if  for  nothing 
more  than  the  wide  range  of  thought  which  it 
presents  to  the  human  intellect,  and  the  inter- 
est it  imparts  to  mere  intellectual  investigation. 
If  the  intellect  is  ever  interested  in  Avhat  is 
great,  it  is  interested  here.  If  it  is  philo- 
sophical and  metaphysical  disquisition  that 
interests  it ;  or  the  natural  sciences ;  or  re- 
lined  and  elegant  literature ;  here  it  may 
revel  as  in  the  richest  banqueting  house  of 
thought.  If  it  be  the  thorny  field  of  contro- 
versy with  the  foe,  that  it  seeks  to  travel  over; 
or  the  garden  of  flowers,  or  the  matured  and 
yellow  harvest,  as  it  waves  in  the  sunlight ; 
here  is  all  that  can  gratify  it.  It  will  be  very 
difticult  to  find  the  men  in  the  literary  world 
whose  enthusiasm  has  been  more  ardent,  and 


A   COMPETENT   MINISTRY    TO    BE    PROCURED.         347 

whose  intellectucil  enjoyment  has  been  more 
pure  and  more  intense,  than  theirs  whose  life 
and  soul  liave  been  wrapt  up  in  the  pursuit  of 
theological  science.  .      ■. 

If  from  this  intellectual  interest  which  the 
great  subjects  of  natural  and  revealed  religion 
excite,  we  turn  to  the  moral  interest,  and  look 
at  the  benevolent  motives  which  address  them- 
selves to  the  heart  of  every  honest  preacher  of 
the  Gospel,  we  shall  see  our  office  still  more 
magnified.  What  these  are  we  have  already 
specified.  And  is  there  no  interest  in  a  course 
of  investigation,  and  of  public  instruction,  argu- 
ment, and  appeal,  where  these  great  objects 
form  the  impulsive  power  ?  I  need  but  sub- 
mit the  inquiry  to  a  Christian  mind.  Is  there 
interest  in  those  wondrous  achievements  which 
the  mind,  the  eye,  and  the  hand  of  man  have 
compassed  for  the  social  and  temporal  benefit 
of  our  race ;  and  is  there  none  in  the  mightier 
achievements  of  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God  ?  Is  there  any  thing  to  attract  the  heart 
in  those  philanthrophic  efforts,  which  have 
thrown  over  the  ruder  nations,  and  the  more 
rude  states  of  human  society,  the  charms  of 
civilized  and  polished  men ;  and  is  there  none 
in  turning  them  from  dumb  idols,  to  serve  the 
living  God  ?  Is  the  pride  of  man  gratified  in 
erecting  pyramids,  building  towers,  and  found- 
ing empires;    and    shall  not  his   humility  be 


348  THF   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

gmtificd,  l3y  his  favored  and  undeserved  in- 
strumentality in  l)uildin<i-  up  the  walls  of  God's 
temple,  and  extending  the  empire  of  his  gra- 
cious Redeemer  over  the  souls  of  lost  men  ? 
Is  he  gratified  when  he  scans  the  heavens, 
penetrates  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  navigates 
unexplored  seas,  converts  deserts  into  cities, 
makes  islands  in  the  ocean,  and  turns  in  the 
sea  upon  the  solid  land ;  and  has  he  no  heart 
to  rejoice  when  he  makes  the  moral  desert 
blossom  as  the  rose,  and  the  wilderness  like 
the  garden  of  God ;  when  through  his  humble 
efforts,  the  abundance  of  the  seas  is  converted 
unto  the  Most  High,  and  w  hen,  from  an  abyss 
deeper  than  all  the  deep  places  of  the  earth, 
he  is  the  selected  instrument  by  which  the 
deathless  soul  is  raised  to  celestial  mansions? 
Does  he  dwell  w  ith  gratified  and  grateful  com- 
placency on  his  successful  efforts  in  healing  the 
sick,  in  defending  the  innocent,  and  redressing 
w'rong,  in  pleading  his  country's  cause  before 
the  elders  of  the  land ;  and  shall  he  have  no 
gratified  and  grateful  emotions  when  he  pleads 
the  cause  of  the  King  of  kings,  when  he  asserts 
the  rights  of  the  Eternal  Lawgiver,  and  when 
he  conducts  the  poor,  and  wretched,  and  blind, 
the  corrupted,  degraded,  palsied,  and  dead  in 
sin,  to  the  great  Author  of  holiness  and  life  ?  An 
anonymous  writer  in  Blackwood's  Marazine, 
remarks,  "I  know  of  no  profession  more  capa- 


A  COMPETENT   MINISTRV   TO   BE   PROCURED.         349 

ble  of  fuUilling^  all  the  objects  of  a  vigorous 
mind.  I  am  not  now  talking  of  mitres;  they  can 
fall  to  but  few.  I  speak  of  the  prospects  which 
it  opens  to  all ;  the  power  of  exerting  the  larg- 
est influence  for  the  highest  purposes  ;  the  pos- 
session of  fame  without  its  emptiness,  and  the 
indulgence  of  knowledge  without  its  vanity ; 
energy  turned  to  the  most  practical  and  lofty 
uses  of  man ;  and  the  full  feast  of  ambition 
superior  to  the  tinsel  of  the  world,  and  alike 
pure  in  its  motives,  and  unmeasurable  in  its 
rewards." 

In  which  of  these  noble  spheres,  then,  will  a 
well  qualified  young  man  accomplish  the  most 
for  the  God  that  made  him,  and  the  generation 
he  lives  to  serve  ?  In  Avhich  w  ill  he  do  the 
most  good,  and  accomplish  the  great  end  for 
which  his  being,  and  his  piety,  and  his  qualifi- 
cations w  ere  bestowed  ?  Where  will  his  soul 
find  the  richest  aliment,  and  his  conscience  be 
most  at  ease,  and  his  heart  most  tranquil  ? 
iJ'7ie7'e  is  he  most  needed  ?  Not  in  the  crowded 
profession  of  the  law  ;  nor  in  the  overstocked 
and  suifocated  department  of  the  healing  art ; 
nor  in  the  professor's  chair,  for  w  hich  there  are 
tw^enty  aspirants  to  one  vacancy. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  done  of  late 
years  on  the  subject  of  educating  poor  and  pi- 
lous young  men  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  that 
the  obligation  of  furnishing  the  pulpit  from  any 


350  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

other  classes  of  society  seems  to  be  in  a  great 
measure  lost  siglit  of.     Now  we  enter  our  sol- 
emn ])rotest  against  some  modern  views  of  tliis 
doctrine.     It  were  a  calamity  greatly  to  be  de- 
plored, should  we  act  upon  the  principle  that 
povertij  aiid  low  birth,  are  essential  qualifications 
for  the  Christian  ministry ;    and  that  a  well- 
bred  man  is  disqualified  from  becoming  a  min- 
ister of  the   Gospel  because  he  is  well-bred, 
and  the  son  of  a  rich  man  disqualified  because 
he  is  rich.    Yet  such  is  the  strong  tendency  of 
the  public  mind  :  the  Church  of  God  and  minis- 
ters themselves   scarcely  think  of  looking  for 
men  to  serve  the  Lord  Jesus  in  his  sanctuarv, 
save  to  the  poor. 

It  is  true  that  the  Saviour  selected  some  from 
the  poor  to  be  his  Apostles.  Feter,  Andrew, 
James,  and  JoJin  where  fishermen ;  yet  eccle- 
siastical historians  inform  us,  that  James  and 
John  w^ere  of  noble  family.  Matthew,  though 
an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  was  a  Roman 
officer,  a  broker  or  money-changer ;  an  office 
which  was  indeed  of  bad  report  among  the 
Jews,  but  among  the  Romans  accounted  a 
place  of  power  and  credit ;  so  much  so  that  it 
was  ordinarily  conferred  on  none  but  Roman 
knights.  Cave,  in  his  Lives  of  the  Apostles, 
states  on  the  authority  of  Suetonius,  that  Titus 
Flaminius  Sabonus,  father  to  the  Emperor 
Vespasian,  was  the  publican  of  the  Asiatic  pro- 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY   TO  BE   PROCURED.        351 

vinces  of  Rome,  and  liiglily  respected  in  his 
character  and  office.  James  the  less  was  re- 
lated to  the  priesthood,  and  was  kinsman  to 
Zacharias,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist ;  so 
w^as  Judas  his  brother,  and  botli  of  them  be- 
longed to  the  royal  family  of  David.  Simon 
Zelotes  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  honorable 
sects  of  the  Jews  ;  and  thougli  it  became  sub- 
sequently degenerate,  was  in  the  days  of  the 
Saviour  of  high  repute  and  authority.  Of 
Philip,  Bartholomew,  Thomas,  and  Mathias,  we 
learn  nothing  from  the  New  Testament,  except 
their  vocation  to  the  apostleship.  Paul,  the 
distinguished  Apostle,  called  so  miraculously, 
was  eminent  from  his  youth  in  the  learning 
and  philosophy  of  the  Gentile  word  ;  educated 
in  the  metropolis  of  Cilicia,  renowned  as  it  was 
for  its  schools,  and  even  rivalling  Alexandria 
and  Athens.  Having  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  attainments  in  the  sciences  at  Tarsus,  he 
w^as  sent  by  his  parents  to  Jerusalem  to  per- 
fect himself  in  the  study  of  the  law,  under  the 
celebrated  Rabbi  Gamaliel.  He  himself  takes 
particular  notice  of  his  honorable  descent,  nor 
is  it  any  impeachment  of  his  high  standing  and 
consideration  in  .society  that  he  was  by  trade 
a  tentmaker,  because  the  sons  of  the  highest 
families  were  brought  up  to  a  trade  :  it  is  a 
well  known  fact  that  the  most  learned  among 
the  Jews  were,  in  early  life,  trained  to  some 


352  THE   POWER   OF   THE    PULPIT. 

brmicli  (tf  manual  and  useful  labor.  It  was  a 
maxim  amonp^  that  people,  that  "  he  who 
teaches  not  his  son  a  trade,  teaches  him  to  be 
a  thief." 

Thus  much  of  Apostles.  If  we  inrpiire  after 
others,  and  durini^  the  Apostolic  age,  we  find 
Mark,  a  descendant  (^f  the  priesthood;  and 
Luke,  the  physician  educated  in  the  metropolis 
of  Syria,  the  "  very  lap  of  the  muses,"  and 
familiar  with  the  learning  of  Egypt  and  Greece. 
We  find  Barnabas,  also  a  descendant  of  the 
priesthood,  the  son  of  rich  antl  pious  parents. 
We  find  TimotJuj,  his  father  a  Greek,  his  mo- 
ther a  Jewess,  fitted  by  his  early  education, 
as  soon  as  he  was  converted  to  the  Christian 
faith,  to  be  employed  by  Paul.  We  find  Ti- 
tus of  Crete,  the  common  account  of  whom  is 
that  he  was  of  the  blood  royal  of  the  Island. 
We  find  Dionyshis  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Grecian  Areopagus ;  Clement,  the  son  of  Faus- 
tus,  who  was  near  of  kin  to  the  Roman  Empe- 
ror; and  Justin  Martyr,  a  highly  educated  young 
man,  and  greatly  accomplished  by  foreign  tra- 
vel. We  find  Irenaius  the  Greek,  the  success- 
ful pupil  of  Papias,  and  prepared  by  his  liberal 
and  extensive  training  for  the  important  post 
he  afterwards  occupied  in  the  Church  of  God. 
We  find  Theopliihis  oi  K\\\aoq\\,  a  young  man, 
versed  in  the  writings  of  all  the  great  masters 
of  learning  in  the  heathen  world ;   TertulliaUy 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY   TO  BE   PROCURED.        353 

descended  from  the  Gens  Scptimia,  a  regal 
tribe  among  the  Romans,  and  maintaining  con- 
sular and  patrician  honors.  We  find  Origen, 
Cyprian,  Gregory,  and  others  not  a  few,  all 
descended  from  wealthy  parentage.  Dr.  M'- 
Crie,  in  his  history  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy, 
and  the  best  which  I  have  seen,  states  that  the 
Italian  Reforyners,  who  performed  and  suffered 
so  much  in  resisting  the  corruptions  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  antecedently  to  the  days  of 
Luther,  and  who  fled  to  different  countries  of 
Europe,  were  men  of  high  and  noble  descent. 
So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the 
great  mass  of  Christ's  ministers,  in  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  have  been  descended  from 
parentage  that  was  above  want ;  and  who,  if 
they  were  not  affluent,  have,  by  the  force  of 
their  own  character,  found  their  way  to  the 
pulpit  without  the  aid  of  charity. 

Until  within  a  few  years  past  this  is  equally 
true  of  the  American  clergy.  Nothing  is  haz- 
arded by  the  general  remark,  that  the  bright- 
est constellations  in  all  lands,  and  the  men 
whose  light  has  shone  to  distant  ages,  have 
been  from  families  respected  and  honored  for 
their  station  in  human  society.  But  there  is 
one  example  that  outshines  them  all,  and  that 
may  well  cover  the  face  of  the  young  man 
with  blushes,  who  is  tempted  to  regard  the 
office  of  the  Christian  ministry  as  beneath  his 


354  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

rank.  I  allude  to  the  only  Son  of  the  acknowl- 
edged and  reigning  Monarch  of  all  worlds. 
Wealth  he  had,  for  the  riches  of  the  universe 
were  his ;  honors  he  had,  for  angels  bowed 
at  his  footstool ;  power  he  had,  for  all  power 
was  his;  high  and  exalted  parentage  he  had, 
for  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  the  Father's 
equal.  O  blush,  and  be  ashamed,  that  He 
whose  honors  make  all  earthly  honors  wither, 
should  lay  aside  his  sceptre,  and  put  ofl'  his 
crown,  and  come  down  to  this  low  earth,  for 
the  sake  of  becoming  a  Minister  of  that  Gos- 
pel, whose  service  is  not  sufficiently  lofty  and 
elevated  for  thee,  his  creature,  his  pensioner, 
his  child  !  It  were  enough  honor  to  resemble 
him,  who  "  though  he  w^as  rich,  for  our  sakes 
became  poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty 
might  become  rich  !"  Yet  he  condescends  to 
solicit  that  very  youth  to  come  into  his  vine- 
yard. His  Church  needs  him.  The  poor  and 
the  destitute  need  him.  Important  churches, 
which  have  long  looked  in  vain  for  men  of 
combined  piety,  talent,  and  some  consider- 
ation in  society,  need  him.  His  Divine  Lord 
has  need  of  him  : — he  has  need  of  him.  It  is 
that  young  man  of  Christian  nurture,  of  early 
piety,  of  cultivated  talent  and  habits,  and  of 
accomplished  character  that  he  needs.  It  is 
that  youth  of  promise,  who  is  looking  toward 
the  council-chamber,  and  the  forum,  and  that 


A   COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED.        355 

has  qualities  tliat  will  shine  amid  the  bright 
lights  of  the  land.  His  Church,  in  the  pres- 
sure of  her  wants,  will  seek  out  others  :  she 
will  find  them  in  the  highways  and  hedges, 
but  she  will  not  seek  for  him.  Him  the  Master 
calls  more  directly.  Jesus,  who  died  for  him, 
calls  him  to  forsake  all,  and  become  his  ambas- 
sador to  dying  men.  There  are  those  whom 
he  must  guide,  and  none  else.  O  there  is  a 
lamentable  destitution  in  the  ministry,  of  such 
men  !  Thousands  there  are  who  are  praying, 
and  looking  fof  the  time  when  such  men  shall 
not  be  ashamed  to  be  enrolled  among  the  am- 
bassadors of  their  despised  Lord.  It  is  a  sorry 
day  this,  in  which  men  of  distinction  shun  the 
sacred  ministry.  Where  it  will  end,  we  do 
not  know ;  but  we  implore  them  to  look  at 
this  great  question  in  the  light  of  eternity. 

There  is  an  aflecting  anecdote  which  many 
have  seen,  related  of  that  memorable  Ital- 
ian reformer,  Filippo  Neri,  and  the  youthful 
student.  "  Filippo  was  living  at  one  of  the 
Italian  Universities ;  when  a  young  man,  whom 
he  had  known  as  a  boy,  ran  up  to  him  with  a 
face  full  of  delight,  and  told  him  that  what  he 
had  long  been  wishing  above  all  things  in  the 
world,  was  at  length  fulfilled,  his  parents  hav- 
ing just  given  him  leave  to  study  the  law ;  and 
that  thereupon  he  had  come  to  the  law-school, 
and  meant  to  spare  no  pains  or  labor  in  getting 


356  THE  POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

tlirough  liis  studies  as  quickly  and  as  Avell  as 
possil)lo.  1)1  this  way  he  ran  on  a  long  time  ; 
and  when  at  last  he  came  to  stop,  the  holy 
man,  who  had  been  listening  to  him  with  great 
patience  and  kindness,  said, '  Well !  and  when 
you  have  got  through  your  course  of  studies, 
what  do  you  mean  to  do  then  V 

"'Then  I  shall  take  my  doctor's  degree,' 
answered  the  young  man. 

"  '  And  then  ?'  asked  Filippo  Neri  again. 

"  '  And  then,'  continued  the  youth,  '  I  shall 
have  a  number  of  difficult  and  knotty  cases  to 
manage,  shall  catch  people's  notice  by  my  el- 
oquence, my  zeal,  my  acuteness,  and  gain  a 
great  reputation.' 

"  '  And  then  V  repeated  the  holy  man. 

"  '  And  then,'  replied  the  youth,  '  why  then, 
there  can't  be  a  question,  I  shall  be  promoted 
to  some  high  office  or  other,  besides,  I  shall 
make  money  and  grow  rich.' 

"  '  And  then  V  repeated  Filippo. 

"  '  And  then,'  pursued  the  young  lawyer, — 
'  then  I  shall  live  comfortably  and  honorably, 
in  health  and  dignity,  and  shall  be  able  to  look 
forward  quietly  to  a  happy  old  age.' 

"  *  And  then  ?'  added  the  holy  man. 

"  '  And  then,'  said  the  youth — '  and  then — 
and  then — then  I  shall  die.' 

"  Here  Filippo  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  again 
asked,  ^And  then?'     Whereupon  the  young 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED.        357 

man  made  no  answer,  but  cast  down  his  head, 
and  went  away.  This  last  And  then  ?  had 
pierced  like  a  flash  of  lightning  into  his  soul, 
and  he  could  not  get  quit  of  it.  Soon  after  he 
forsook  the  study  of  the  law,  and  gave  himself 
up  to  the  ministry  of  Christ,  and  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  in  godly  words  and  works." 
It  is  true  there  are  trials  in  the  Christian 
ministry ;  and  some  of  them  are  peculiar  and 
severe.  But  are  they  too  many,  or  more  than 
these  servants  of  God  need?  Nor  is  the  min- 
istry the  only  profession  in  which  there  are 
trials ;  yet  is  it  the  only  one  which  has  such 
promises,  and  such  a  reward.  What  a  day 
will  that  be,  when  a  faithful  and  laborious  min- 
ister stands  before  God !  When  the  mighty 
God,  even  the  Lord,  shall  say,  "  Gather  my 
saints  together  unto  me,  those  who  have  made 
a  covenant  with  me  by  sacrifice  :"  and  when 
before  the  General  Assembly  and  Church  of 
the  First  Born,  and  in  presence  of  assembled 
w^orlds,  he  shall  present  the  fmits  of  God's 
grace  and  his  fidelity,  to  his  Father  and  their 
Father,  to  his  God  and  their  God,  and  say, 
"  Behold  I  and  the  children  which  thou  hast 
given  me ;"  trials  will  be  forgotten.  Disclaimed 
honors  will  then  be  restored,  and  look  bright 
again.  Yea,  toil,  weariness,  watchings,  fast- 
ings, penury,  reproach,  and  frowns,  will  all  be 
forgotten  in  the  fulness  of  the  joy. 


358  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

There  is  a  remainiiiG:  source  of  supply  to  the 
Cliristian  ministry,  when  all  these  are  found  to 
be  inadequate.  The  American  Republic  has 
introduced  a  new  era,  not  only  in  the  State,  but 
in  the  Church.  The  pride  of  family  is  rapidly 
vanishing  away,  and  personal  worth  is  daily 
becoming  more  and  more  the  only  standard  of 
character.  It  is  impossible  to  maintain  any 
thing  like  an  aristocracy,  in  any  land,  without 
something  like  the  law  of  entailment.  With 
some  few  exceptions,  the  rich  in  this  land, 
were  the  sons  of  the  poor;  while  those  who 
are  now  the  sons  of  the  rich,  will,  with  some 
honorable  exceptions,  themselves  be  poor  in  a 
few  years  after  their  farthers  sleep  in  the  dust. 
The  wealthy,  and  well  educated,  and  honored 
among  us,  have  for  the  most  part  no  high  par- 
entage to  boast  of  They  will  be  much  more 
likely  in  tracing  up  their  parentage,  to  stum- 
ble over  a  carpenter's  bench,  or  a  blacksmith's 
anvil,  or  a  butcher's  stall,  or  a  stage  coach, 
than  upon  a  peerage,  or  a  bishop's  see.  Right 
or  wrong,  this  is  the  actual  state  of  things  in 
this  democratic  land  :  and  with  all  wisdom  and 
energy  the  church  of  God  must  meet  it.  Men 
are  no  longer  great  by  inheritance,  but  are 
self-made  men.  The  church  is  just  as  demo- 
cratic as  the  world  ;  she  has  few  rich  that  were 
not  once  poor,  and  few  poor  that  will  not  be- 
come rich.      In  this  land,  therefore,   it  is  no 


A   COMPETENT  MINISTRY   TO   BE   PROCURED,         359 

dishonor  in  a  young  man  to  be  poor.  Poverty 
is  no  barrier  to  his  advancement  either  in 
Cliurch  or  State. 

There  are  not  a  few  young  men  of  fine  minds 
and  straitened  circumstances,  to  be  found  in 
our  churches,  who  must,  if  this  extensive 
country  be  furnished  with  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  direct  their  attention  to  the  pulpit. 
This  therefore  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
sources  from  which  those  large  supplies  can 
be  obtained  that  are  demanded  by  the  millions 
that  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge.  The 
exigencies  of  the  land  justify  and  demand  the 
effort  of  selecting  and  educating  this  class  of 
young  men  by  the  charities  of  the  Church. 

There  are  intrinsic  and  adventitious  disad- 
vantages, and  even  objections  to  this  great 
enterprise  ;  and  they  deserve  a  candid  hearing. 
But  if  those  that  are  adventitious  may  be 
diminished  and  removed,  it  ought  not  to  be 
fatal  to  so  important  an  enterprise  that  those 
which  are  intrinsic  and  inseparable  from  it  re- 
main. "  Where  there  is  a  will,  there  is  a 
way."  A  strong  young  man,  be  he  ever  so 
poor,  may  find  access  to  the  ministry,  by  the 
force  of  his  own  strong  will,  and  the  solicited 
blessing  of  God  upon  his  own  exertions.  Yet 
is  there  many  a  one  naturally  well  qualified  for 
extensive  usefulness  in  this  field  of  such  varied 
labor,  who  is  not  thus  strong.     There  can  be 


360  THE   POWER   OP   THE   PULPIT. 

little  doubt  that  tliose  young  men  who  are  phy- 
sically, intellectually,  and  spiritually  qualified 
for  the  ministry,  would  greatly  increase  those 
qualifications,  by  that  course  of  mental  and 
physical  toil,  so  patiently  and  with  such  exem- 
plary self-denial  endured  by  some  who  found 
their  w  ay  to  the  pulpit  long  before  modern  Ed- 
ucation Societies  came  into  existence.  They 
would  "  show  themseh^es  men^^  and  be  more 
respected,  and  vigorous  and  useful.  The  loss 
of  time  by  such  a  course  of  self-training,  and 
discipline,  would  be  made  up  by  the  acces- 
sion of  influence.  Some  of  the  most  labori- 
ous men  who  have  held  their  places  in  the 
Church  during  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years,  were 
men  of  this  stamp ;  and  no  class  of  ministers 
have  proved  themselves  more  trustworthy,  or 
have  enjoyed  a  larger  share  of  public  confi- 
dence. But  such  has  been  the  pressing  de- 
mand of  the  world  for  ministers,  that  this  tardy 
progress  has  been  found  to  be  too  slow ;  and 
necessity,  which  know^s  no  law,  has  driven  the 
churches  to  the  bold  experiment  of  seeking  out 
young  men,  and  aiding  them  in  their  prepara- 
tory course  of  study.  Multitudes  have  thus 
been  brought  into  the  ministry,  wdio,  from 
sensitive  diffidence,  or  more  sensitive  poverty, 
Avould  never  have  thought  of  devoting  them- 
selves to  this  great  work.  They  are  men 
fitted  for  the  exigencies  of  the  age,  and  have 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED.        361 

done  good  service  ;  while  there  are  those 
among-  them  who  have  shone  as  stars  of  the 
first  magnitude,  and  eclipsed  the  light  that  rose 
amid  fewer  clouds.  Nor  is  it  any  marvel,  nor 
ought  it  to  be  any  serious  disappointment  that 
in  an  enterprise  so  untried,  and  conducted  upon 
so  large  a  scale,  there  should  have  been  some 
unhappy  failures.  They  have  been  not  a  few ; 
we  confess  they  have  been  unhappy.  There 
is  something  wanting  in  this  class  of  men  :  even 
not  a  few  of  them  who  have  gone  as  mission- 
aries to  the  iieathen,  have  given  more  trouble, 
and  more  expense,  than  those  who  have  found 
their  way  to  the  pulpit  unaided.  They  expect 
too  much  ;  they  have,  to  too  great  an  extent, 
the  habit  of  dependence  upon  others.  If  we 
look  over  the  land  too,  we  shall  find  the  leaders 
of  new  measures,  and  that  fearful  radicalism 
which  has  distracted  the  churches,  among 
those  who  were  low-bred  men ;  who  have 
been  brought  up  from  their  youth  to  be  jealous 
of  clerical  influence,  and  who  have  not  grown 
up  with  those  sentiments  of  respect  for  the 
Gospel  ministry  which  it  deserves.  Let  me 
not  be  misunderstood.  A  poor  young  man  is 
not  necessarily  a  low-bred  man;  it  is  not  be- 
cause he  is  poo7'  that  he  may  not  be  entitled  to 
high  confidence.  If  we  doubt  the  expediency 
of  introducing  low-hred  men  into  the  pulpit,  it 
is  because  the  "  Ethiopian  cannot  change  his 

16 


362  THE   POWER  OK  THE   PULPIT. 

skill,  nor  the  leopard  liis  spots."  It  is  a  sure 
way  to  bring  the  ofiice  into  contempt,  when 
the  Church  miikes  to  herself  "  Priests  of  the 
lowest  order  of  the  people." 

Experience  gives  wisdom.  No  class  of  men 
have  profited  more  by  their  experience,  than 
those  to  whom  the  churches  have  intrusted 
the  selection  and  education  of  poor  and  pious 
youth  for  the  ministry.  The  enterprise  is  now 
probably  as  well  conducted  as  it  can  be  ;  and 
if  not,  there  is  but  one  thing  wanted  to  make 
the  system  as  perfect  as  it  is  capable  of  being 
made.  That  one  thing  is  the  extension  of  the 
syston  of  parochial  schools  throughout  all  our 
churches.  These,  under  a  wise  supervision, 
would  become  not  only  the  nurseries  of  the 
church,  but  the  nurseries  of  the  ministry.  They 
furnish  the  very  scenes,  and  associations,  and 
employments  which  put  the  intellectual  and 
moral  character  of  this  class  of  youth  to  the 
test ;  and  which,  by  that  gradual  development 
which  is  most  to  be  relied  on,  would  indicate 
the  most  worthy  candidates  for  the  Church's 
charity.  The  report  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
on  the  subject  of  parochial  schools,  presented 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  at  their  last  annual  meeting,  does  not 
give  undue  weight  to  these  thoughts,  when  it 
says  that  the  ''  parochial  system  will,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  fi^ive  the  Church  a  wider  range 


A   COMPETENT   MINISTRY  TO   BE   PROCURED,        363 

from  which  to  expect  ministerial  supplies.  She 
will  not  only  have  better  ministers,  by  God's 
grace,  but  more  of  them.  In  proportion  as 
Christian  education  exerts  an  influence  on  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  youth  of  the  Church, 
are  the  probabilities  increased  of  their  turning 
their  attention  to  the  ministry.  There  is  no 
irreverence  in  such  an  anticipation.  God  em- 
ploys means  in  the  advancement  of  his  king- 
dom. As  tlie  multiplication  of  churches  se- 
cures in  the  ordinary  course  of  Providence,  an 
increase  of  communicants,  so  a  larger  class  of 
youth  religiously  educated  in  church-schools, 
will  be  likely  to  furnish  an  increased  supply 
for  the  sanctuary.  The  qualifications  of  can- 
didates trained  up  from  early  youth,  under  the 
watchful  care  of  the  Church,  would  be  well 
known  in  all  our  congregations  and  presby- 
teries. From  the  nature  of  the  case,  there 
would  be  fewer  risks  encountered.  Character 
would  be  formed  on  a  superior  model ;  piety 
would  liave  a  more  intelligent  basis  ;  the  nature 
of  a  call  to  the  ministry  would  be  better  un- 
derstood ;  and  the  general  qualiiications  of  can- 
didates would  be  better  known,  as  well  as  of  a 
better  order.  Almost  all  the  failures  connected 
with  the  Board  of  Education,  have  been  from 
the  class  whose  early  education  was  neglected. 
The  most  hopeful  candidates  of  the  Church  are 
those  who  have  drank  in  the  "  sincere  milk  of 


3G4     ,  THE   POWER  OF   THE  PULPIT, 

the  word,"  with  their  nursery  rhymes  and  their 
mother's  prayers,  and  who  liave  been  regularly 
trained  in  Sabbath,  and  other  schools.  It  must 
not  be  supposed,  liowever,  tliat  under  the  best 
possible  system  of  church  education,  we  shall 
be  free  from  failures  among  our  candidates. 
But  we  may  labor  by  prayer,  and  by  effort  of 
every  kind,  to  diminish  the  number ;  and  it  is 
believed  that  no  improvement  upon  our  exist- 
ing system  would  be  found  so  radical  and  ef- 
fectual, as  the  education  of  our  future  minis- 
ters under  the  care  of  the  Church,  from  the 
school  to  the  theological  seminary." 

It  is  by  methods  like  these,  that  a  compe- 
tent ministry  is  to  be  procured  for  the  Church 
and  the  v>orld  ;  and  if  in  our  former  observa- 
tions, we  have  not  claimed  more  for  the  pulpit 
than  belongs  to  it,  it  is  but  justice  that  it  be 
more  abundantly  supplied.  Whatever  means 
of  a  different  kind  may  be  adopted,  the  har- 
vest will  not  be  gathered  in  without  the  ap- 
pointed laborers.  A  voice  reaches  us  on  this 
subject,  not  from  our  own  land  only,  but  from 
every  part  of  the  world.  More  than  twenty 
years  ago,  the  American  Missionaries  in  the 
far  distant  East,  in  one  of  their  communications 
to  the  churches  at  home,  have  embodied  the 
following  important  thought : — "  Sending  teach- 
ers without  tliC  Bible,  was  the  error  of  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  let  it  not  be  the  error  of 


A  COMPETENT  MINISTRY  TO  BE  PROCURED.        365 

Protestants  to  send  the  Bible  without  preach- 
ers." If  we  look  to  our  own  land  alone,  not- 
withstanding the  increase  of  ministers  within 
the  last  thirty  years,  the  ratio  of  this  supply 
by  no  means  stands  abreast  with  the  ratio  of 
an  increased  population.  This  vast  land  is  to 
be  supplied  with  the  Christian  ministry.  It  is 
no  easy  matter  to  contemplate  the  number  of 
inhabitants  that  are  to  be  affected  by  a  preached 
Gospel  in  such  a  land  as  this.  "  The  present 
confederacy  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  contains  a  larger  area  of  cultivated 
land,  and  hospitable  climate,  than  any  country 
that  has  previously  existed.  Ancient  and  mod- 
ern empires  sink  into  insignificance  when  com- 
pared with  it.  The  United  States  of  America 
contain  2,300,000  square  miles,  over  half  a  mil- 
lion more  than  Europe,  if  we  except  Russia. 
Their  greatest  length  is  3,000  miles ;  their 
greatest  breadth  1,700  miles.  They  have  a 
frontier  line  of  10,000  miles ;  a  sea-coast  of 
36,000,  and  an  inland  lake  coast  of  1,200 
miles.  The  rivers  of  the  United  States  are 
the  largest  in  the  world.  The  Missouri  is 
3,600  miles  in  length ;  or  more  than  twice  as 
long  as  the  Danube.  The  Ohio  is  600  miles 
longer  than  the  Rhine.  The  Hudson,  entirely 
within  a  single  State,  is  navigable  120  miles 
above  its  mouth  farther  than  the  Thames.  One 
of  the   States  has  an  area  of  70,000  square 


3G0  THE  POWER  OP  THE   PULPIT. 

miles,  and  is  about  one-third  larger  than  Eng- 
land. From  the  eastern  extremity  of  Maine  to 
New  Orleans,  the  distance  is  2,000  miles,  or 
400  more  than  from  London  to  Constantinople. 
From  London  to  Constantinople,  you  cross  the 
entire  continent  of  Europe,  and  through  most 
of  its  principal  kingdoms.  The  great  propor- 
tion of  the  whole  extent  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  is  uncultivated.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  country,  as  rapidly  as  it  increases, 
would  not  occupy  all  the  public  domain  in  a 
cycle  of  500  years.  So  vast,  indeed,  is  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  already,  that  it 
takes  no  ordinary  mind  to  contemplate  its  ex- 
tent, and  few^  indeed  can  calculate  its  resour- 
ces; and  the  most  comprehensive  intellect 
cannot,  even  when  warmed  by  a  high-wrought 
imagination,  give  but  a  faint  glimmering  of  the 
future  wealth  and  power  to  be  accorded  to  the 
-American  people.  Our  population  is  spread- 
ing from  the  Eas.tern  to  the  Western  Ocean, 
and  in  a  few  generations  Avill  constitute  the 
largest  nation  in  the  world." 

And  if  we  take  into  account  the  unevansfel- 
ized  parts  of  the  earth,  how  fearful  is  the  des- 
titution of  Christian  ministers!  What  an  army 
of  young  men  must  be  found,  and  educated, 
and  sent  forth  ere  the  Redeemer  have  the  hea- 
then for  his  inlieritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  his  possession.     "  Pray  ye  the 


A   COMPETENT    MINISTRY   TO    BE    PROCURED.         3G7 

Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  lie  woukl  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest !"  Prayer,  prayer, 
prayer.  "  Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
that  he  Avould  send  forth  laborers  into  his  har- 
vest !" 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE    FITTING    EDUCATION    FOR    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY. 

We  have,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  presup- 
posed, that  the  duty  of  the  Churcli  in  regard  to 
the  classical  and  scientific  education  of  her  sons 
for  the  Christian  ministry,  is  in  a  good  measure 
performed.  In  all  ordinary  cases,  we  insist  on 
such  an  education.  The  necessities  of  the 
Church  may  justify  the  setting  apart  of  men  to 
the  sacred  office  who  have  not  enjoyed  the  ad- 
vantages of  an  extended  education.  After  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantz,  the  French 
Protestants  called  to  the  pastoral  office  some 
of  their  most  zealous  and  enlightened  mem- 
bers, and  are  indebted  to  them  for  their  con- 
tinued existence.  But  the  instances  in  which 
this  is  called  for  are  rare ;  necessity  knows  no 
law. 

We  proceed,  in  the  present  chapter,  to  a 
topic  of  some  delicacy,  and  implore  direction 
to  treat  it  in  the  meekness  of  wisdom.  A 
classical  and  literary  education  is  not  all  that 
ministers  need;    nor  is  it  all  for  which  the 


FITTING   EDUCATION   FOR   MINISTERS.  369 

Church  ought  to  hokl  herself  responsible. 
There  is  a  solid,  theological,  spiritual,  and  prac- 
tical training  of  her  sons  which  must  be  cared 
for;  nor  can  she  throw  this  responsibility  from 
her  own  conscience ;  nor  may  she  stand  by  an 
indifferent  and  silent  spectator,  if  she  sees,  or 
even  fears,  that  her  beloved  and  consecrated 
youth  are  exposed  to  a  training  which  will  di- 
minish their  usefulness  in  the  service  in  which 
she  desires  and  prays  that  they  may  be  emi- 
nently useful. 

We  have  intimated  that  the  pulpit  is  less 
powerful  than  it  was  in  the  days  of  our  fathers  ; 
and  this  acknowledgment  comes  to  us  from 
quarters  from  which  it  might  be  least  expected. 
The  existing  ministry  are  not  backward  in  an- 
nouncing the  mournful  fact.  One  of  the  most 
venerable  and  experienced  teachers  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  makes  the 
following  faithful  statement  on  this  subject,  in 
an  address  to  the  students  in  that  institution, 
which  has  been  read  with  great  interest,  and 
has  given  great  satisfaction  both  to  the  churches 
and  their  pastors.  I  shall  offer  no  apology  for 
introducing  these  thoughts,  expressed  as  they 
are  with  the  clearness,  purity,  and  meekness 
so  characteristic  of  their  accomplished  author. 
"  The  means  of  more  mature  study,  and  the 
excitements  to  more  mature  study,  have  been 
constantly  increasing ;  but  both  the  means  and 

16* 


370  Tin:   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

excitements  have  been  lost  upon  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  candidates.  And  Avlien  a  rapid  im- 
provement might  have  been  expected,  a  real 
decline,  if  I  mistake  not,  has  been  silently 
and  insensibly  going  on.  A  little  more  than 
three  quarters  of  a  century  ago,  there  Avas  a 
considerable  number  of  ministers  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  this  country,  ^vho  deserved 
to  be  called  illustrious.  As  to  the  reality  of 
this  fact,  you  will  not  hesitate,  when  I  men- 
tion, as  a  specimen,  the  names  of  President 
Dickinson,  the  elder  President  Edwards,  Pres- 
ident Burr,  the  Tennents,  Mr.  Blair,  President 
Davies,  President  Finley,  and  a  number  more 
scarcely  inferior;  men,  most  of  them,"  at  once 
eminent  for  the  fervor  of  their  piety,  the  ac- 
tivity of  their  zeal,  the  vigor  of  their  talents, 
the  extent  of  their  erudition,  and  their  com- 
manding influence.  The  distinguished  use- 
fulness of  these  holy,  apostolical  men,  in  giv- 
ing a  tone  to  the  preaching,  the  discipline,  and 
the  character  of  the  Church  to  which  they 
belonged,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  estimate. 
They  were  felt  to  be  'workmen  that  needed 
not  to  be  ashamed,'  qualified  '  rightly  to  divide 
the  word  of  truth ;'  and  the  churches,  and 
their  younger  brethren  confided  in  them,  and 
looked  up  to  them,  and,  under  the  divine  bless- 
ing, were  guided  aright.  They  were  men  fit- 
ted to  have  influence,  and  they  had  it,  and  em- 


FITTING   EDUCATION   FOR   MINISTERS.  371 

ployed  it  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  hest 
interests  of  mankind.  The  generation  of  min- 
isters next  to  them,  were,  as  a  body,  little,  if 
any  less  distinguished.  Then  we  had  Strain, 
and  Duffield,  and  Witherspoon,  and  M'Whor- 
ter,  and  Waddell,  and  Wilson,  and  Rodgers, 
and  Hoge,  not  to  mention  others  of  equal 
claims ;  men  of  wisdom,  piety,  prudence,  dig- 
nity, and  peace ; — men  who  commanded  the 
veneration  and  confidence  of  the  churches ; 
men,  who,  whenever  they  appeared  in  eccle- 
siastical judicatories,  especially  in  the  higher 
ones,  seemed  as  if  they  were  sent  to  enlight- 
en, and  guide,  and  bless  the  family  of  Christ. 
Of  the  present  state  of  our  Churcli  in  refer- 
ence to  this  point,  it  is  both  difficult  and  deli- 
cate to  speak.  But  I  ask — Have  we  an  equally 
illustrious  list  to  show  at  this  hour,  in  propor- 
tion to  our  greatly  augmented  numbers  and 
advantages  ?  The  ministers  of  our  Church  are 
nearly  ten  times  as  numerous  as  they  were 
sixty  years  ago ;  and  the  facilities  for  obtaining 
books,  and  pursuing  study,  are  also  greatly 
multiplied.  Upon  every  principle  of  propor- 
tion, we  ought  to  be  able  now  to  bring  forward 
a  catalogue  of  Presbyterian  apostles  at  least 
ten  times  as  large  as  could  have  been  produced 
in  the  days  of  Edwards,  Davies,  and  Finley. 
But  can  we  produce  such  a  catalogue  ?  It 
would  rejoice  my  heart  if  I  could  think  it  pos- 


372  THK   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

sible.  We  cannot,  however,  I  think,  so  far 
impose  uj)on  ourselves  as  to  deem  it  possible. 
The  most  mortifying  facts  of  a  contradictory 
character  stare  us  in  the  face.  How  difficult 
is  it,  even  in  this  day  of  theological  seminaries, 
to  supply  an  important  vacant  congregation 
^vitli  a  pastor,  in  whom  the  union  of  eminent 
learning,  talents  and  piety  is  considered  as  in- 
dispensable ?"* 

We  have  the  same  complaint  from  the  learned 
Professor  who  now  occupies  the  theological 
chair  at  Andover.  "  The  effectiveness  of  the 
pulpit,"  says  he,  "  in  comparison  with  other 
efficiencies,  has  declined  among  us  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  within  the  last  fifty  years."! 

We  cannot  but  regard  sentiments  like  these, 
coming,  as  they  do,  from  the  fountain-heads  of 
theological  learning,  and  the  highest  eminence 
of  observation,  as  worthy  of  grave  considera- 
tion; and  the  question  forces  itself  upon  us. 
May  there  not  be  some  latent  defect  in  the 
modern  system  of  educating  young  men  for  the 
Gospel  ministry  ? 

In  former  days,  the  training  of  youth  for  the 
pulpit  was  conducted  by  the  payors  of  the 
churches;  thev  were  scattered  over  the  land, 

*  Address  of  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton. 

f  Professor  Park. 


FITTING   EDUCATION   FOR  MINISTERS.  373 

and  amid  all  the  vscenes  and  responsibilities  of 
the  pastoral  office .  Nor  may  it  be  denied  that 
there  were  important  advantages  in  this  ar- 
rangement. Pastors  themselves  would  feel 
the  responsibility  of  becoming  qualified  for  the 
office  of  theological  teachers ;  and  the  most 
eminent  learning  and  ability  of  the  Church, 
instead  of  being  concentrated  in  a  few  select 
localities,  would  be  more  widely  diffused. 
Young  men  were  indeed  taught  less  than  they 
are  now- taught  in  theological  seminaries;  they 
heard  and  transcribed  fewer  lectures ; — they 
were  not  listeners  merely,  but  were  allowed 
to  be  inquirers,  and  even  encouraged  to  be 
disputants.  The  consequence  was,  that  while 
they  were  taught  less,  they  studied  more, 
thought  more,  wrote  more ;  and  their  minds 
were  better  disciplined,  if  not  so  richly  fur- 
nished. With  less  learning  and  fewer  attain- 
ments, they  were  abler  men ;  abler  casuists, 
abler  polemics ;  abler,  more  instructive,  and 
more  practical  and  acceptable  preachers  of  the 
Gospel. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  of  this  system 
of  tuition  was  found  in  the  pastoral  supervision 
exercised  over  the  young  men  by  their  teach- 
er. They  were  members  of  his  family ;  they 
took  their  turns  in  conducting  its  daily  devo- 
tions ;  their  character  and  conduct,  and  quali- 
fications for  the  sacred  office  were  inspected; 


374  THE   POWER   or   THR    PULPIT. 

and  while  there  was  great  familiarity  of  inter- 
course between  the  teacher  and  tlie  taught, 
tluMT  were  not  wanting  those  rebukes,  admo- 
nitions, and  pjiternal  counsels  and  encourage- 
ments that  are  so  much  needed  even  by  young 
men  of  high  Christian  character. 

Nor  was  it  one  of  the  least  of  the  advantages 
attendant  on  this  system  of  education,  that  the 
students  became  acquainted  with  men  and 
things;  with  good  men  and  bad;  with  scep- 
tics and  unbelievers ;  with  scenes  of  affliction 
and  scenes  of  joy;  with  sickness  and  with 
death ;  with  Aveekly  meetings  for  prayer  and 
instruction  among  the  people,  and  with  the 
various  dealings  of  God's  Spirit  with  the  souls 
of  men. 

Students  of  theology  under  such  a  course  of 
education,  have  also  often  been  made  emi- 
nently useful ;  and  not  a  few  of  those  revivals 
of  religion  with  which  the  churches  in  the 
days  of  old  were  so  frequently  visited,  were 
promoted  by  their  influence,  even  while  pur- 
suing their  preparatory  studies. 

Nor  is  the  suggestion  an  unimportant  one, 
that  it  was  by  such  a  domestic  training  as  this, 
that  the  young  men  imbibed  some  just  impres- 
sions of  the  proprieties  and  courtesy  of  social 
intercourse.  Instead  of  entering  the  ministry 
crude  and  green,  as  the  mass  of  young  men 
usually  do,   who  for  some    eight    years   have 


FITTIISTG   EDUCATION   FOR   MINISTERS.  375 

enjoyed  little  intercourse  save  that  which  is 
found  within  the  walls  of  a  college,  and  a  the- 
ological seminary,  they  entered  it  w-itli  a  more 
subdued  and  chastened  mind,  enjoying  all  the 
sympathies  of  a  Christian  people,  and  not  un- 
frequently  from  the  fragrant  atmosphere  "of 
churches  on  which  the  rains  of  heaven  had 
fallen,  and  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  risen 
with  healing  in  his  beams. 

It  was  not  unnatural,  that  in  contemplating 
the  change  from  this  system  of  education  to 
that  which  is  now  pursued  by  theological  sem- 
inaries, a  doubt  should  have  suggested  itself 
to  the  minds  of  our  fathers,  whether,  on  the 
wdiole,  it  would  be  a  change  for  the  better. 
I  know  there  were  such  doubts,  for  I  w^as  per- 
sonally familiar  with  the  inquiries  and  dis- 
cussions on  this  subject,  on  the  part  of  the 
friends  of  the  theological  seminaries,  both  in 
the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  churches. 
The  experiment  has  been  made,  and  its  results 
are  before  the  w  orld.  The  churches  must  judge 
whether  it  has,  or  has  not  furnished  them  with 
a  more  able  and  efficient  ministry,  and  w  hether 
it  has  proved  itself  more  effective,  either  in 
the  pulpit,  or  from  the  press.  It  is  quite  obvi- 
ous that  something  has  been  lost  by  the  change, 
and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  something  has 
been  gained.  If  I  were  called  upon  to  strike 
the  balance,  I  frankly  confess  I  should  be  not  a 


376  THE    POWER   OF   THE   I'ULPIT. 

little  ciii])iiiTassecl.  My  own  train  of  tlioiiglit, 
and  my  own  convictions  of  duty,  would  lead 
mc  (o  something'  like  the  following  conclu- 
sions. 

The  change  is  made;  it  was  made  by  men 
in  u  hose  piety,  judgment,  and  experience  we 
have  great  confidence,  and  who  often  and  ear- 
nestly sought  counsel  of  God.  A  large  amount 
of  funds  has  been  invested  in  the  existing  the- 
ological institutions;  the  age  in  which  we  live 
demands  a  learned  ministry  ;  and  the  current 
of  ])ublic  opinion  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the 
present  system  of  education.  To  distrust  it 
now,  and  more  especially  to  propose  any  rad- 
ical alteration  in  the  system,  would  be  at- 
tended with  results  that  would  be  mournful. 
These  and  other  considerations  would  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  our  theological  seminaries 
must  be  sustained. 

But  we  may  not  rest  simply  in  this  conclu- 
sion. If  there  are  evils  incidental  to  this  sys- 
tem of  instruction,  may  they  not  be  remedied ; 
and  is  it  not  a  possible  thing  to  give  our  the- 
ological institutions  such  a  direction,  that  they 
shall  be  better  than  they  are,  and  more  cer- 
tainly accomplish  the  benevolent  designs  of 
those  who  founded  them  ?  The  inquiry  is  one 
of  great  and  common  interest ;  the  time  has 
arrived  when  it  may  receive  impartial  consid- 
eration without  injury;  and  it  is  pressed  upon 


PITTING  EDUCATION  FOR  MINISTERS.  377 

US  by  facts  wliicli  render  the  consideration  of 
it  not  unseasonable. 

The  great  solicitude,  the  agitating  appre- 
hension of  the  pious  and  venerable  founders 
of  our  theological  seminaries,  was,  lest  the 
opportunities  they  should  furnish  of  high  intel- 
lectual culture,  should  not  have  the  best  ten- 
dency to  raise  up  a  spiritual  ministry.  It  were 
proof  of  criminal  thoughtlessness  to  be  ignorant 
of  his  devices  who  plots  the  ruin  of  the  Church 
by  infusing  into  her  the  spirit  of  the  world ; 
and  itvho,  the  more  effectually  to  accomplish 
his  purpose,  would  enervate  the  vigor,  by  im- 
pairing the  spirituality  of  her  ministers.  She 
has  survived  the  shock  of  persecution  ;  she 
has  proved  herself  superior  to  the  assaults  of 
infidelity  and  "  science,  falsely  so  called  ;"  but 
she  has  another  conflict  to  engage  in,  another 
victory  to  attain.  With  her  members,  it  is 
the  all-absorbing  spirit  of  worldliness;  with 
her  ministers,  it  is  the  same  worldliness,  only 
in  another  and  more  subtle  form.  She  has 
yet  to  survive  the  conflict  vAth.  that  pride  of 
sacred  learning,  which  is  now  putting  to  the 
test  the  spirit  of  her  ministers,  and  by  which 
they  themselves  are  so  greatly  ensnared,  and 
the  truth  of  God  so  diluted  that  it  flows  too 
often  only  from  human  fountains.  Men  of  let- 
ters, men  of  research,  men  of  taste,  and  ac- 
complished  scholars,   who,   like    the    rest   of 


378  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

mniikiiul,  liave  the  remnants  of  all  that  is  im- 
liiillowcd  ill  the  pride  and  ambition  of  tlic 
liuman  lieart,  may  look  upon  it  as  a  miracle  of 
mercy,  if  they  make  not  sliipwreck  of  a  good 
conscience  in  the  great  work  of  the  Gospel 
ministry.  The  age  is  one  in  Avhich  the  love 
of  learning  rather  than  the  love  of  Christ,  is 
easily  substituted  as  the  great  stimulus  to 
ministerial  effort;  and  in  which  it  were  not 
surprising  if  men  are  found  occupying  the  sa- 
cred office,  whose  greenest  laurels  are  gath- 
ered from  the  tree  of  knowledge,  rather  than 
from  the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  Paradise  of  God. 

If  what  we  have  suggested  in  preceding  ob- 
servations, do  not  produce  tlie  conviction  that 
we  are  no  enemies  to  a  learned  ministry,  that 
conviction  will  be  produced  by  nothing  which 
it  is  in  our  power  to  utter.  Much  as  we  may, 
in  every  view,  fall  short  of  our  own  standard, 
"^ve  are  advocates  for  a  learned  ministry,  and 
for  a  spiritual  one.  The  .dangers  to  which  we 
have  referred  must  be  obviated  at  the  threshold, 
and  in  our  theological  seminaries.  Hoiu  must 
they  he  obviated  ? 

In  replying  to  this  question,  I  answer,  in  the 
first  place.  It  must  be  by  a  watchful  eye  over 
the  young  men  who  are  there  pursuing  their 
theological  education.  The  rivalship  of  numbers 
is  unworthy  of  these  seats  of  sacred  science. 


*   FITTING   EDUCATION    FOR   MINISTERS.  379 

Numbers  may  ruin  us.  It  is  impossible  that  a 
very  larf^e  number  of  students  should  enjoy 
that  pastoral  supervision  which  they  need. 
Many  a  young  man  has  finished  his  course  in 
our  theological  seminaries,  who  never  ought 
to  have  thought  of  the  ministry,  and  whom 
a  faithful  pastoral  supervision  would  have  so 
instructed ;  while  more  have  suffered  in  their 
usefulness  as  ministers,  for  the  want  of  that 
personal  inspection  which,  from  the  multitude 
of  students,  it  has  been  impossible  to  exer- 
cise. Give  us  abler,  better,  and  more  spiritual 
preachers,  even  if  they  must  be  fewer.  The 
three  hundred  that  lapped  under  GidCTni,  were 
more  potent  than  the  mighty  host  of  Midian. 

Our  second  reply  to  the  question  is.  Let  the 
teachers  of  those  icho  are  being  educated  for  the 
ministry,  he  men  of  no  inconsiderable  experience 
in  the  pastoral  office.  In  the  early  organization 
of  theological  seminaries,  the  professors  were 
of  this  character;  they  came  with  the  experi- 
ence of  settled  pastors ;  not  with  clear  heads 
only,  but  with  warm  hearts,  and  from  the  warm 
bosom  of  tlie  churches  which  they  loved. 
Their  more  early  pupils  were  the  flower  of  the 
churches ;  they  preached  as  though  they  un- 
derstood and  felt  the  Gospel ;  and  though  not 
a  few  of  them  have  been  called  to  their  rest, 
their  names  will  be  long  embalmed  in  the 
memory  of  good  men.     It  is  a  wise  arrange- 


380  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT, 

ment  of  (lie  Tlicoloi^ical  Seminary  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  that  tlie  professors  shall  be 
ordained  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  I  need  not 
say,  that  this  designation  is  ordinarily  applied 
to  the  stated  pastors  of  the  churches.  There 
are  exceptions  to  this  rule  ;  but  the  reasons 
must  be  urgent  to  induce  a  presbytery  to  or- 
dain any  man,  sine  titulo,  or  save  in  connec- 
tion with  a  pastoral  charge.  We  say  this  is  a 
Avise  arrangement ;  for  there  is  no  such  jjrima 
facie  testimony  to  the  personal  qualifications 
of  a  teacher  of  young  men  who  are  pursuing 
their  studies  with  a  view  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry, as  4hat  which  is  furnished,  by  having 
usefully  and  acceptably  sustained  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  pastoral  office.  There  is  no 
such  test  of  his  intellectual  and  spiritual  qual- 
ifications ;  of  his  tact  as  a  teacher ;  of  his  habits 
of  industry ;  and  of  his  capacity  and  willing- 
ness to  "  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of 
Christ."  If  the  deacons  must  "  first  be  proved," 
much  more  the  ministers ;  and  if  ministers, 
much  more  the  instructors  of  ministers.  The 
more  deliberately  and  impartially  the  subject 
is  considered,  the  more  it  will  be  found  to  be 
one  of  the  absurdest  things  in  the  w^orld,  to 
invest  a  man  w  itli  the  office  of  a  teacher  of  the 
sons  of  the  prophets,  who  is  himself  no  pro- 
phet. It  requires  but  an  ingenuous  and  impar- 
tial view^  of  this  question,  in  order  to  produce 


FITTING  EDUCATION  FOR  MINISTERS.  381 

the  strong  conviction,  that  the  rule  ought  rarely, 
if  ever,  to  be  dispensed  with ;  not  even  in 
favor  of  those  departments  which,  from  their 
own  nature,  are  most  purely  scholastic,  and  for 
the  competent  occupancy  of  which  young  men 
must  be  specially  trained  ;  for  there  is  no  part 
of  that  training  more  important  than  the  labors 
of  the  pastoral  office.  We  cannot  say  too  much 
in  favor  of  these  more  scholastic  departments; 
they  are  worthy  of  the  best  and  holiest  talents 
and  acquirements  of  the  choicest  sons  of  the 
Church,  They  are  departments  in  which  the 
best  informed  mind  may  task  its  greatest  re- 
sources ;  the  most  acute  mind  exhaust  all  its 
powers  of  discrimination ;  tlie  most  safe  and 
well-balanced  mind  prove  its  caution,  by  its 
well-judged  conclusions  ;  and  where  the  mind 
that  is  most  equable  and  trustworthy  in  sea- 
sons of  excitement,  of  invading  errors  and 
stormy  conflict,  is  most  needed.  And  for  these 
reasons,  they  are  departments  which  call  for 
unsleeping  vigilance  and  supervision.  They 
are  the  very  departments  which  are  exposed 
to  exert  a  wrong  influence  ;  wdiere  the  wisest 
men  are  in  danger  of  imbibing  loose  and  un- 
evangelical  views,  and  proving  eventually  un- 
safe guides  of  the  aspiring  and  unstable  minds 
of  the  young.  It  is  true,  they  are  departments 
for  which  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  a 
man  should  be  fully  prepared  in  the  ordinary 


382  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

course  of  pastoral  labor ;  but  they  are  depart- 
ments for  Avliich  any  scholar-like  pastor  can 
easily  prepare  Iiimself,  with  much  less  labor 
than  he  devotes  to  the  incessant  toil  of  the  pul- 
pit, and  for  the  premature  and  hasty  occupancy 
of  which  there  is  no  good  and  sufficient  reason. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  founders 
of  our  theological  schools,  by  requiring  that  the 
professors  should  be  ordained  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  designed  to  protect  these  seminaries 
from  the  evils  of  a  mere  scholastic  influence. 
The  Church  may  be  induced  to  disregard  this 
law^ ;  influences  may  be  brought  to  act  upon 
her  from  the  theological  seminaries  them- 
selves, of  which  she  herself  is  not  aware,  to 
induce  her  to  disregard  it ;  but  in  yielding  to 
them  she  knows  not  what  she  does. 

We  are  well  aware  that  w^c  shall  be  com- 
plained of  when  we  say  these  things.  Yet  we 
say  them  freely,  fearlessly  and  humbly  ; — we 
say  them  because  life  is  short,  and  we  may  not 
be  able  to  say  them  at  another  day ;  and  we 
say  them,  because  vast  prospective  interests 
are  at  stake  in  the  practical  decision  of  this 
great  question.  Mere  scholars,  those  vrho 
know  more  of  books  than  of  men,  and  more 
of  theological  halls  than  the  pulpit,  ought  not 
to  be  invested  with  the  trust  of  educating  a 
vjliole  generation  of  young  men  for  the  Chris- 
tian   ministry.      The   fact  may   no  longer  be 


FITTING   EDUCATION   FOR   MINISTERS.  383 

dissembled,  that  the  tendency,  if  not  the  design 
of  our  theological  seminaries  themselves,  is 
to  fill  the  most  important  chairs  with  purely 
literary  men ;  men  who  neither  have,  nor 
expect  to  have,  any  relation  to  the  pastoral 
office  ',  men  ordained,  not  to  the  vv^ork  of  the 
ministry,  but  to  their  professorship.  It  is  easy 
to  see  that  such  arrangements  once  entered 
upon,  are  apt  to  \iQ progressive  and  to  perpetuate 
themselves.  Age  and  experience  sleep  in  the 
tomb ;  and  those  only  become  the  teachers  of 
ministers,  w^ho  have  themselves  never  been 
the  teachers  of  the  people,  and  never  served 
the  Church  of  God  in  the  ministry  of  his  Son. 
There  are  many  things  that  favor  such  an 
arrangement,  unwise  as  it  is.  It  is  one  that 
is  easily  made  ;  and  the  individuals  whom  it 
specially  regards  are  men  of  great  attainments, 
and  great  excellence  of  character.  There  is 
not  a  little  about  it,  too,  that  is  captivating  to 
congregated  youthful  minds,  who  may,  without 
any  imputation  of  wrong  doing,  be  supposed 
to  exert  sufficient  influence  in  effecting  it. 
The  men  are  on  the  spot;  they  are  acquainted 
with  one  another,  and  draw  well  together. 
The  glare  of  human  learning,  and  the  pride 
of  man,  are  gratified  and  exalted  by  concen- 
trating in  the  schools  of  the  prophets  youthful 
teachers  of  the  highest  promise.  Cut  the 
effects  of  the  delusion  will,  sooner  or  later,  be 


384  THE  POWER  OP'  THE   PULPIT. 

bitterly  ])ewailctl.  It  will  be  a  sorry  day 
when  the  churches  are  led  away  by  consider- 
ations like  tliese. 

The  liistory  of  the  past  and  the  example  of 
other  churches,  may  not,  on  so  important  a 
subject  as  this,  be  regarded  with  indifference. 
In  reply  to  some  inquiries  on  this  subject, 
a  very  sensible  clergyman  of  the  Scottish 
Church,  remarks :  "  Among  the  voluntary  dis- 
senters in  all  the  three  kingdoms,  the  union 
of  ecclesiastical  charges  with  professorships, 
is,  so  far  as  I  remember,  universal."  There  is 
no  portion  of  the  earth  to  wiiich  the  evangeli- 
cal churches  in  this  land  liave  been  in  the 
habit  of  looking  with  greater  reverence  and 
confidence,  than  the  churches  of  Scotland  and 
Geneva.  Most  justly  have  they  done  so  ;  there 
are  no  nobler  examples  for  our  imitation  than 
these  churches,  from  the  days  of  Calvin  and 
Knox,  down  to  those  of  Merle  D'Aubigne, 
and  Chalmers.  So  far  as  my  information  ex- 
tends, not  an  instance  can  be  found  in  these 
churches, — churches  wiiere  the  pulpit  has  ex- 
erted more  influence  than  in  any  other  part 
of  Christendom,  in  which  the  training  of  min- 
isters has  been  committed  to  those  w  ho  were 
strangers  to  the  responsibilities  of  the  pastoral 
office.  So  far  from  this,  the  ablest  and  best 
professors  in  the  theological  schools  of  Geneva, 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  have  been,  and  still 


FITTING   EDUCATION   FOR   MINISTERS.  385 

are,  men  who,  like  the  great  Calvin,  have  been 
the  most  approved  pastors  of  the  churches,  and 
not  a  few  of  these  have  not  even  demitted 
their  pastoral  charge.  If  we  look  to  Germany, 
we  do  indeed  see  a  different  usage ;  their  pro- 
fessors are  for  the  most  part  purely  scholars, 
and  rarely  pastors.  Nor  is  it  to  the  rational- 
ism, the  mysticism,  the  idealism  of  Germany, 
nor  to  its  crippled  orthodoxy,  that  the  Ameri- 
can churches  have  any  desire  to  look  for  ex- 
amples of  theological  nurture. 

Theological  science,  as  a  science,  has  no 
peculiarity  ;  it  is  in  this  respect  just  like  every 
other  science ;  no  man  understands  it  until  he 
has  practised  it.  The  statesman  does  not ;  the 
jurist  does  not ;  the  physician  does  not ;  nor 
the  navigator,  nor  the  surveyor.  Lawyers  and 
physicians  do  not  commit  the  training  of  their 
young  men  to  those  who  have  never  been 
practised  in  their  profession;  they  would 
deem  it  a  great  blunder.  The  laws  of  the  land 
require  that  some  portion  of  the  time  of  their 
students  should  be  employed  in  the  offices  of 
practised  teachers.  A  man  must  have  been 
in  the  midst  of  his  Avork,  and  observed  and 
marked  with  studious  care  and  anxious  solici- 
tude, the  practical  operation  of  his  principles, 
in  order  to  present  those  principles  in  their 
truest  and  best  light  to  the  youthful  mind. 
No  matter  what   the  talents   of  a  theological 

17 


380  THE   POWER  OP   THE   PULPIT. 

instructor  may  be,  it  is  not  possible  for  him 
rightly  to  exliibit  the  truth  of  God,  and  teach 
others  to  exhibit  it,  if  he  himself  have  not  been 
in  the  habit  of  exhibiting  it  to  the  jjopular  mbid. 
Books  and  treatises,  reviews  and  single  dis- 
courses written  by  these  distinguished  authors, 
speak  for  themselves;  they  have  great  excel- 
lencies, but  they  have  this  one  deficiency,  that 
they  have  no  savor  of  the  pastoral  office.  They 
are  not  like  the  works  of  Leighton  and  Erskine, 
Romaine,  Witherspoon,  and  Edwards ;  nor  are 
they,  with  all  their  acuteness  and  research, 
what  they  would  have  been  had  their  authors 
seen  more  hard  service.  They  evince  talent 
and  piety,  but  they  are  wanting  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  human  heart ;  they  are  wanting  in 
that  which  nien  want  to  know  and  feel ;  they 
are  wanting  in  that  impressive,  impulsive, 
practical  exhibition  of  truth  which  the  popular 
mind  demands.  They  savor  of  the  cloister, 
but  not  of  the  pulpit;  they  savor  of  scholarship 
and  intellect,  while  they  ought  to  be  imbued 
with  a  richer  fragrance.  Even  as  mere  bibli- 
cal commentators,  preachers  have  the  pre-emi- 
nence ;  nor  do  I  know  that  there  are  to  be 
found  any  writings  of  this  description  superior 
to  the  beautiful  commentaries  of  Calvin  and 
Doddridge. 

We  have  sought  to  ascertain,  if  the  Scriptures 
anywhere   contemplate  a  class  of  theological 


PITTING   EDUCATION   FOR  MINISTERS.  387 

teachers,  who  have  not  themselves  been  the 
acknowledged  and  honored  teachers  of  the 
people.  Unless  we  have  overlooked  some  im- 
portant fact,  the  history  of  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  Church  speaks  the  same  language, 
from  the  days  of  Samuel  to  the  days  of  Paul ; 
and  it  is  uniformly  in  favor  of  the  views  here 
expressed. 

What  is  the  voice  of  common  sense,  and  of 
all  the  better  feelings  of  our  hearts  on  this 
very  plain  question,  if  it  be  not  that  the  men 
whose  professed  employment  is  to  teach  others 
to  preach  the  Gospel,  should  themselves  be 
preachers  of  the  Gospel  ?  Is  it  said,  they  are 
preachers  of  the  Gosple  ?  They  are  so,  but 
not  to  the  people.  And  how  often  do  they 
preach  it  to  their  own  eclectic  charge  ?  Once 
in  four,  or  six  weeks  ;  and  then  they  come  be- 
fore their  pupils  with  a  highly  elaborate  and 
finished  discourse, — a  banquet  for  the  king, 
and  not  for  the  peopel.  It  is  just  the  preach- 
ing to  discourage  an  humble,  and  spoil  an  am- 
bitious aspirant  for  the  ministry.  This  will  do 
occasionally  ;  but  it  will  never  do  as  the  habit- 
ual example  for  the  imitation  of  the  young. 
They  will  never  be  broken  into  the  harness 
after  this  sort.  Far  better  were  it  to  fall  back 
upon  the  old  method  of  instruction  by  the 
pastors  of  the  churches,  than  to  have  our 
young  men  subjected  to  the   evils  of  such  a 


388  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

purely  scholastic  training.  Our  theological 
teachers  oujrlit  to  be  men  who  have  known 
something  of  "  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day," — men  who  have  been  in  the  field  in 
sunshine  and  amid  storms,  in  seed-time  and  in 
harvest;  not  literary  men  merely,  not  preach- 
ers to  a  selected  few,  with  "  itching  ears,"  but 
men  who  have  come  in  contact  with  the  com- 
mon mind,  and  preached  the  Gospel  to  the 
mon  people. 

There  is  another  thought  also  which  is  wor- 
thy of  some  consideration.  It  has  been  before 
Intimated,  that  when  a  student  at  law,  or  at 
medicine,  has  finished  his  course  at  the  law  or 
medical  school,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  ex- 
tends, he  is  put  under  the  tuition  of  a  practis- 
ing lawyer  or  practising  physician.  Let  the 
same  thing  be  done  with  our  students  in  theol- 
ogy. On  completing  their  theological  course, 
let  their  respective  presbyteries  require  them  to 
spend  three,  or  six  months,  with  some  settled 
pastor.  They  will  find  still,  that  they  have 
something  to  learn;  they  will  receive  impor- 
tant instruction,  and  at  the  same  time  will  do 
good.  We  know  little  of  them  under  the 
present  arrangement;  and  I  believe  I  speak 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  presbytery  with 
which  I  am  connected,  that,  but  for  the  fact 
that  they  have  employed  three  years  in  pur- 
suing their  theological  course,  and  but  for  the 


FITTING   EDUCATION    FOR  MINISTERS.  389 

recommendation  of  their  professors,  not  a  few 
of  them  would  have  been  refused  their  license 
to  preach  the  Gospel. 

It  is  one  thing  to  impart  theological  knowl- 
edge, and  another  to  form  ministers  of  Christ. 
The  human  heart  is  a  most  wicked  and  deceit- 
ful thing.  It  cannot  he  trusted  with  a  purely- 
scholastic  training.  Rigid  orthodoxy,  and  well- 
defined  symbols  of  faith,  will  not  always  bind 
men  whose  idol  is  a  learned,  rather  than  a  spir- 
itual and  useful  ministry  ;  and  whose  love  and 
pride  of  learning  so  ensnare  them,  that  when 
hardly  pressed,  they  will  be  too  strongly  tempt- 
ed to  seek  the  honor  that  cometh  from  men, 
rather  than  abide  the  consequences,  in  a  lit- 
erary age  of  which  they  themselves  may  be  the 
brightest  constellations,  if  witnessing  a  good 
confession.  It  is  "  Avhile  men  sleep,  that  the 
enemy  sows  tares."  American  pastors  and 
churches  must  be  blind  indeed,  if  thev  have 
not  seen  enough  to  convince  them  that  the  grad- 
ual incursions  of  error  haA  e  crept  upon  them 
unawares,  from  the  institutions  of  theological 
science.  It  is  true  they  have  crept  in  from 
the  influence  of  men,  who,  in  some  instances, 
have  been  settled  pastors  before  they  became 
professors.  But  they  were  men  who  were 
once  "  good  men,  and  true,"  and  who  became 
corrupted  after  they  left  the  pastoral  office. 
"If  these  things  be  done  in  the  green  tree. 


390  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

what  sliall  be  done  in  tlic  dry  ?"  Let  us  take 
heed  lest  'we  fall  from  our  steadfastness. — ■ 
"Hold  flist  that  thou  hast;  let  no  man  take 
thy  crown  !" 

While,  therefore,  we  would  hesitate  to  go 
back  to  the  old  method  of  educating  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  and  would  sustain  and  honor 
our  theological  seminaries,  w^e  would  say,  for 
Christ's  and  the  Church's  sake,  .spare  no  effort 
to  give  them  the  best  direction,  and  to  throw 
into  them  the  most  sacred  influence.  Let  the 
Church  perpetuate  the  work,  whicli  in  former 
years  she  so  nobly  began,  and  in  the  behalf  of 
her  sons,  call  for  teachers  of  sound  and  thor- 
ough literary  attainments,  disciplined  by  the 
toil  and  experience  of  the  pastoral  office.  The 
safety  and  excellence  of  the  seminaries  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  is  found  thus  far  in  this 
combined  influence.  Like  the  original  apostol- 
ical college,  so  wisely  established  by  the  Sav- 
iour, age  with  youth,  pastoral  experience  with 
scholastic  learning,  the  ardor  of  literary  en- 
terprise with  matured  and  chastened  piety, 
bound  together  as  in  a  "  covenant  of  salt," 
have,  under  God,  made  our  seminaries  what 
they  are.  Let  us  do  our  best  endeavors,  un- 
der the  favor  of  a  kind  Providence,  not  sim- 
ply to  keep  them  what  they  are,  but  to  make 
them  better.  The  venerable  men  who,  in  the 
vigor  of  their  manhood,  and  at  no  small  per- 


PITTING   EDUCATION   FOR  MINISTERS.  391 

sonal  sacrifice,  left  the  most  important  congre- 
gations in  the  land  for  the  purpose  of  conduct- 
ing tliese  infant  institutions,  will  soon  sleep 
with  their  fathers.  Thankful  are  we  that  they 
have  lived  so  long,  and  have  performed  such 
essential  service.  Their  hoary  head  is  still  a 
crown  of  glory  to  the  institutions,  so  long 
moulded  hy  their  unwearied  effort,  faith,  and 
prayer.  There  let  them  remain,  and  like  the 
distinguished  statesman  who  breathed  his  last 
in  the  American  Capitol,  breathe  forth  their 
last  influence  with  their  latest  breath,  in  the 
halls  of  which  they  have  so  long  been  the 
adornment !  Nor  is  there  any  one  truth  of  its 
kind,  that  ought  to  be  more  deeply  felt,  than 
that  if  the  time  should  ever  arrive,  when  the 
places  they  have  so  long  occupied  shall  be  oc- 
cupied by  men  of  no  pastoral  experience,  the 
glory  of  these  institutions  will  have  departed. 
Let  not  these  remarks  be  either  misunder- 
stood, or  wilfully  perverted.  The  writer  would 
be  among  the  last  to  aid  in  introducing  teach- 
ers to  our  theological  seminaries,  the  vigor  of 
whose  days,  like  his  own,  has  already  been 
exhausted  in  the  pastoral  office.  Those  for 
such  a  service  should  be  men,  not  in  the  de- 
cline, but  in  the  strength  of  human  effort ;  men 
whose  meridian  rays  now  cheer  us,  and  whose 
light,  when  it  begins  to  grow  dim,  shall  be 
the  tranquil,  and  clear,  and  prolonged  twilight 


392  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

of  tlic  iiortlicrii  sky.  Loii<^  may  the  light  of 
these  sacred  institutions  shine  !  The  God  of 
Zion  grant  that  it  may  be  the  light  of  a  high- 
born and  heaven-sustained  piety,  and  an  ac- 
complished erudition !  We  would  look  to 
them,  not  as  the  proud  Greek  looked  to- 
ward the  grove  of  Academus,  or  the  mount 
where  Apollo  struck  his  lyre  ;  but  rather  as 
the  devout  Hebrew  was  wont  to  look  to  the 
halls  where  Samuel  taught,  and  David  sang, 
and  to  the  hallowed  mountain  where  the  Great 
Teacher  spake,  and  employed  whole  nights  in 
prayer.  Let  them  be  baptized  with  this  Spirit ! 
let  the  dews  of  Heaven  fall  upon  them !  let 
them  ever  be  imbued  with  the  atmosphere  of 
Zion  ! 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE    PECUNIARY    SUPPORT    OF    MINISTERS. 

It  falls  in  with  the  legitimate  design  of  our 
remarks,  to  call  the  reader's  attention  to  ano- 
ther topic  that  is  somewhat  delicate  in  its  na- 
ture, and  still  more  so  to  be  enlarged  upon  by 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a  topic  which  it 
were  more  befitting  and  decent  for  .some  one 
to  urge,  who  is  not  himself  a  party  interested 
ill  such  a  discussion.  I  have  not  known  it 
seriously  undertaken  and  urged,  save  by  a 
single  layman.  The  late  Jeremiah  Evarts,  a 
name  that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by  the 
American  churches,  the  friend  of  missions  and 
the  able  and  fearless  advocate  of  the  red  men 
of  our  0A\ n  v.ilderness,  once  presented  this 
subject  in  a  strong  light  to  the  churches  of 
New  England.  The  to{)ic  is  the  claims  of  the 
inilpit  for  a  competent  and  honorable  pecuniary 
maintenance. 

The  writer  has  some  advantages  for  pre- 
senting a  subject  like  this  to  the  consideration 
of  the  churches,  above   the  great  mass  of  his 

17* 


394  THE   POWKR   OF   TIIH   PULPIT. 

ministerial  friends.  For  the  most  part,  the 
maintenance  of  settled  pastors  in  our  large 
cities  is  liiglily  creditable  to  tlie  congregations 
■whom  they  serve.  Not  only  our  wants,  but 
our  comforts  are  cared  for:  it  becomes  us  to 
^be  grateful  to  God  and  to  the  generosity  of 
our  congregations  that  we  are  allowed  to  em- 
ploy our  time  in  the  appropriate  duties  of  our 
high  calling,  "  free  from  worldly  cares  and 
avocations."  Since,  in  this  particular,  we  have 
nothing  to  ask  for  ourselves,  we  are  the  more 
bold  to  urge  the  claims  of  those  who  are  less 
favored,  though  equally  deserving.  But  Avhile 
we  ask  this  indulgence,  our  best  apology  for 
presenting  the  subject  is,  that  it  falls  within 
the  range  of  our  instructions  as  contained  in 
the  word  of  God.  * 

If  the  importance  of  the  subject  does  not  at 
once  strike  the  mind  of  the  reader,  he  has  but 
to  give  it  a  few  moments'  thought,  and  to 
recur  to  the  distinguished  men  whose  pen  has 
been  employed  in  discussing  it.  Selden,  in  his 
treatise  "  On  Tithes ;"  Bingham,  in  his  "  An- 
tiquities of  the  Christian  Church ;"  Prideaux, 
"  On  Tithes ;"  Hooker,  in  his  "  Ecclesiastical 
Polity ;"  Comber,  in  his  "  Vindication  of  the 
Divine  Right  of  Tithes,"  against  Selden ;  to- 
gether with  several  more  modern  anonymous 
writers  of  great  ability,  in  the  Quarterly,  and 
Edinburgh  Review,  in  the  Monthly  Magazine^ 


PECUNIARY  SUPPORT  OF   mNISTERS.  395 

and  in  Blackwood's  Edinhurgli  Magazine,  have 
given  the  subject  prominence,  not  only  in  the 
religious,  but  the  literary  and  political  world. 

For  the  origin  of  tithes  we  must  go  farther 
back  than  the  Mosaic  Law.  When  Abraham 
returned  from  his  victory  over  Chedorlaom'er 
and  his  confederate  kings,  he  "  gave  tithes  of 
all"  to  Melchizedec,  the  Priest  of  the  Most 
High  God.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
he  paid  the  tenth  part  of  his  annual  income,  but 
a  tenth  part  of  the  spoil  which  he  took  from 
Chedorlaomer  and  the  kings  that  were  with 
liim.  The  Apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, speaks  of  this  tithe  as  "  a  tenth  part  of 
the  spoils^  There  are  some  commentators, 
and  among  the  rest.  Bishop  Patrick,  who  ar- 
gue from  this  payment  of  a  tenth  of  the  spoil 
taken  in  war,  that  it  must  have  been  the  cus- 
tom to  pay  to  the  priests  the  tenth  of  all  other 
things.  When  Jacob  was  at  Bethel,  "  he 
vowed  a  vow,  saying.  If  God  will  be  with  me, 
and  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will 
give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on, 
so  that  I  come  again  to  my  father's  house  in 
peace ;  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God ;  and 
this  stone  which  I  have  set  for  a  pillar  shall  be 
God's  house  ;  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give 
me  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee." 
We  are  not  able  to  discover  that  the  lights  of 
reason  and  nature  would  liave  suggested  this 


396  THE   POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

payment  of  tithes  for  reli^^ious  purposes;  and 
are  stronj2:ly  disposed  to  believe  that  it  was  of 
divine  original,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  patri- 
arclial  dispensation. 

However  this  may  be,  it  was  expressly  com- 
manded by  God  under  the  law  of  Moses.  When 
the  land  of  Canaan  was  divided  among  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  no  portion  was  allotted  as  an 
inheritance  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  They  were 
to  be  dispersed  among  all  the  other  tribes; 
forty-eight  cities  were  appointed  for  their  resi- 
dence ;  the  family  of  Aaron,  to  which  the 
priesthood  belonged,  was  of  this  tribe ;  and 
instead  of  the  portion  of  country,  such  as  was 
allotted  to  each  of  the  other  tribes,  each  tribe 
was  required  to  furnish  provision  for  the  priests 
and  Levites  who  should  dwell  among  them, 
and  who  constituted  the  settled  ministry  of 
Israel.  This  provision  consisted  of  one-tenth 
part  of  the  gross  produce  of  the  soil ;  the  first 
born  of  the  cattle  to  the  priests,  and  one-tenth 
of  the  increase  to  the  Levites.*  Besides  this, 
the  Levites  had  a  large  quantity  of  land  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  forty-eight  cities  allotted  for 
their  residence. 

Not  a  few  writers  of  high  distinction  have 
maintained,  from  these   premises,  that  tithes, 

*  From  this  example,  the  clergy  of  Christendom  gave  one-tenth 
of  their  tithes  to  the  Pope,  which,  at  the  Reformation  in  England, 
was  transferred  to  the  crown,  hy  26  H.  8,  c.  3. 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT    OF   MINISTERS.  397 

under  the  Christian  dispensation,  are  due  to 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  by  divine  right. 
The  argument  is  summarily  this  :  that  all  those 
positive  institutions  under  the  Mosaic  economy 
which  are  not  expressly  abolished,  and  for  the 
continuance  of  which  there  are  the  same  rea- 
sons under  the  Christian  dispensation,  ought  to 
be  regarded  as  permanent.  Bingham,  in  his 
"  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,"  shows 
this  to  have  been  the  doctrine  of  Origen,  Jet'ome, 
and  Augustine.  Augustine  uses  an  argument 
of  his  own,  of  how  much  weight  the  reader 
must  judge.  "The  Pharisees  paid  tithes.  Our 
Lord  says,  '  Excejyt  your  righteousness  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
not  enter  into  the  hingdom  of  heaven.'  But  if 
he  Avhose  righteousness  ye  are  to  exceed  gave 
tithes,  and  you  give  not  a  thousandth  part,  how 
can  you  be  said  to  exceed  him  wliom  you  do 
not  so  much  as  equal  ?"  Binghcwi,  indeed,  as- 
serts that  "  it  is  generally  agreed  by  learned 
men,  that  the  uncients  accounted  tithes  to  be 
due  of  divine  right."  Spotsioood,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,"  states  the  divine 
right  of  tithes  to  be  indisputable ;  and  says, 
"  He  that  will  not  wilfully  shut  his  eyes  against 
the  truth,  cannot  but  know  it."  We  certainly 
are  no  believers  in  this  doctrine.  Tlie  conclu- 
sion of  Hooker  is  the  sound  conclusion,  and  he 
supports  it  by  irrefragable  argument : — "  We 


398  THE   POWF.R  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

arc  now  free  from  tlic  Law  of  Moses,  and  con- 
sequently not  thereby  bound  to  the  payment 
of  tithes." 

Evils  of  a  most  serious  kind  have  been  the 
result  of  the  jure  divino  doctrine  of  tithes. 
"  The  first  converts  to  the  Christian  religion," 
says  the  Quarterly  Review,*  "  gave  a  tenth  part 
of  tlie  produce  of  their  land,  as  a  reasonable 
standard  of  a  voluntary  compensation  to  its  min- 
isters. When  this  religion  acquired  a  surer 
footing,  and  converts  became  more  numerous, 
the  provision  which  had  been  previously  re- 
ceived as  the  spontaneous  liberality  of  its  pro- 
fessors, began  to  be  regarded  as  a  right  estab- 
lished by  custom.  In  the  course  of  the  eighth 
century,  the  growing  force  of  custom,  aided 
by  the  operation  and  influence  of  the  Canon 
Law,  rendered  the  payment  of  tithes  an  im- 
perative ohligation.^'  The  Emperor  Constan- 
tine  was  the  first  prince  who  settled  upon  the 
clergy  a  standing  allowance  out  of  the  public 
treasury.  This  allowance  was  taken  away  by 
his  nephew,  Julian;  a  third  part  of  it  was  re- 
stored by  his  successor,  Jovian  ;  and  was  after- 
wards confirmed  by  the  code  of  Justinian,  in 
the  year  533.  But  the  clergy  were  not  satis- 
lied  with  this.  Synods  and  Councils  at  length 
came  in  to  enforce  the  obligation  o{  tithes  ;  the 
spiritual  sword  was  wielded ;  and  the  anath- 

*  No.  LXVm.  p.  633. 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT  OF   MINISTERS.  399 

emas  of  a  terrific  excommunication  were  thun- 
dered against  all  who  refused  to  obey.*  Leiden 
allows  that  "  nothing  was  more  common  than 
decrees  of  councils,  concerning  this  matter,  all 
over  Christendom."  In  progress  of  time,  these 
anathemas  were  disregarded  ;  those  there  were 
who  refused  to  pay  their  tithes ;  and  the  re- 
sult was  recourse  to  the  civil  authority  to  en- 
force the  law  of  the  Church.  A  law  to  this 
effect  was  enacted  by  Pepin,  the  King  of 
France,  in  the  year  764 :  the  same  year,  a  sim- 
ilar law  was  introduced  into  Bavaria  ;  in  779, 
Charlemagne,  the  son  of  Pepin,  confirmed  the 
law  of  his  father ;  and  in  789,  having  conquered 
the  Saxons,  and  compelled  them  to  adopt  the 
Christian  religion,  he  imposed  the  same  law 
upon  them,  including  the  tithe  of  labor.  In 
794,  at  Frankfort,  and  in  804,  at  Saltzburg,  he 
made  a  similar  law  for  Germany.  Having  ex- 
tended his  dominions  into  Italy,  a.d.  800,  his 
law^s  extended  thither  also ;  and  shortly  after- 
wards, laws  enforcing  the  payment  of  tithes 
were  passed  in  Spain. 

In  all  this,  there    was  little    else    than   the 
desire  to  conciliate  the  formidable  power  of 

*  A  canon  to  this  effect  was  made  in  the  second  Council  of  Mas- 
con,  in  the  diocese  of  Lyons,  in  585. 

A  similar  canon  was  made  at  a  Council  at  Seville,  in  Spain,  in  590. 

[n  the  Council  of  Friuli  also,  a  canon  to  the  same  purpose  was 
made  for  Italy  in  791. 


400  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

the  Cliurcli  ol'  Koine.*  Tlie  State  defended 
the  Church,  takins:  "^ood  care  that  the  Chiircli 
in  return  slioukl  defend  the  State.  Pepin  had 
usurped  the  crown  o^  Childeric,  and  was  willing 
to  purchase  at  any  price,  the  sanction  of  the 
Popes.  Charlemagne,  the  great  establisher  of 
tithes  in  Christendom,  w^as  influenced  by  no 
purer  motives  than  his  father.  He  was  a  bad 
man  ;  shamefully  licentious,  and  if  possible, 
more  cruel.  The  Pope  and  he  swore  everlast- 
ing friendsliip  to  each  other  over  the  tomb  of 
St.  Peter;  and  wliile  he  conferred  upon  the 
Pope  immense  estates  and  dukedoms,  the 
Pope  crowned  him  Emperor  of  the  West,  and 
thus  placed  him  on  the  pinnacle  of  his  ambi- 
tion. 

Tithes  were  introduced  into  England  just 
as  they  were  on  the  Continent,  and  not  far 
from  the  same  time.  Long  before  the  union  of 
the  seven  kingdoms  under  Egbert,  the  Chris- 
tian religion  was  established  all  over  England ; 
and,  though  not  without  difficulty,  w  as  brojight 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Roman 
Pontiif.  A  single  Council  had  urged  the  pay- 
ment of  tithes  from  tlie  authority  of  the  Law 
of  Moses;  tithes  were  paid  in  the  province  of 

*  This  assertion  is  justified  by  facts.  Sep  Daniel's  History  of 
Fnince;  Gifford's  ditto :  Sisinondi's  Hi'Jtoiredos  Francois  ;  Br-larins's 
IJves  of  the  Popes:  Card's  Life  of  Charlematrne ;  Gibbon's  History 
of  tlie  Decline  and  Fall  of  tlie  Roman  Empire  ;  ]\Iosiieim's  Ecclesias- 
tical History. 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT   OF   MINISTERS.  401 

Canterbury  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century ;  but  they  had  not  yet  been 
enforced  by  the  laws  of  the  kingdom.  In  the 
latter  part  of  this  century,  Offa,  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Saxon  kings,  for  his  treacher- 
ous murder  of  Ethelhert,  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome  in  order  to  obtain  a  pardon  from  the 
Pope.  Adrian  granted  him  a  pardon  on  con- 
dition of  bounty  to  the  Church ;  and  on  his 
return,  he  passed  a  law  giving  her  the  tithes 
of  all  his  kingdom.  This  law  was  confirmed 
by  Ethelwolf,  in  a  Parliament  at  Winchester, 
and  a  grant  of  tithes  made  to  all  the  clergy  of 
England.  About  thirty  years  after  passing 
the  grant  of  Ethelwolf,  Alfred  his  son,  pub- 
lished a  body  of  laws  for  the  better  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom,  in  which  he  strictly 
enjoins  the  payment  of  tithes  to  the  clergy. 
This  law  was  afterwards  renewed  by  Edward, 
the  elder ;  by  Athehtan,  the  son  of  Edward ; 
by  Edmund  the  brother  of  Athelstan  ;  by  Edgar 
the  son  of  Edmund ;  by  Ethelred,  by  Canute, 
by  Edward  the  Confessor  ;  by  William  the  Con- 
queror ;  by  Henry  I. ;  by  Stephen;  by  Charles  I., 
Charles  II.,  and  James  II.  This  law  has  been 
in  existence  for  a  period  of  nearly  a  thousand 
years;  the  lands  of  the  kingdom  are  sold  sub- 
ject to  this  condition ;  and  no  present  posses- 
sor of  tithable  land  can  say  that  his  ancestors 


402  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

ever  possessed  it  exempt  from  this  ecclesiasti- 
cal law.* 

Having  their   origin    from  the    churches   in 
Great  Britain,  the  churches   in  this    country, 

*  The  doctrine  of  pluralities  has  been  the  bane  of  the  Church  of 
England.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  one  clergyman  to  possess 
several  benefices,  or  ecclesiastical  livings,  and  to  supply  them  by 
proxy,  thus  farming  out  the  livings,  and  "  making  gain  of  godliness." 
Burnet,  in  his  Life  of  Bedell,  informs  us  that  Bishop  Bedell,  in  a  let- 
ter to  Archbishop  Usher,  expresses  himself  in  the  following  language  : 
"  Plainly  I  do  thus  think,  that  of  all  the  diseases  of  the  Church  in 
these  times,  next  to  that  of  the  corruption  of  our  courts,  tliis  of  plu- 
ralities is  the  most  deadly  and  pestilent."  Bishop  Burnet  uses  still 
stronger  language.  "  These  are  things,"  says  he,  "  of  so  crying  a 
nature,  that  no  wonder  if  the  wrath  of  God  is  ready  to  break  out  upon 
us.  These  are  abuses  that  even  the  Church  of  Rome  is  ashamed  of." 
His  conduct  proved  his  sincerity ;  for  when  he  was  out  of  favor  at 
court,  and  without  preferment,  excepting  the  chapluinship  at  the  Rolls, 
and  the  lectureship  at  St.  Clements,  a  large  living  was  offered  to  him 
by  the  Earl  of  Essex,  on  condition  that  he  would  reside  in  London. 
But  he  refused,  and  said  that  "  in  case  he  was  presented  to  the  cure 
of  souls,  he  must  think  himself  under  such  an  obligation  to  resi- 
dence, as  no  other  consideration  could  dispense  with."  Prideaux,  in 
his  "  Reasons  for  the  Bill  to  restrain  Pluralities,"  a  draft  of  which 
he  himself  made  in  1691,  discusses  this  subject  with  great  ability. 
It  is  in  this  document  that  he  makes  the  remark,  that  "  the  late  Earl 
of  Rochester  acknowledged  on  liis  death,  as  we  have  it  publicly  attest- 
ed, that  this  evil  practice  was  one  of  tlie  main  causes  that  made  him 
an  atheist."  This  subject  is  also  ably  discussed  in  the  "  Quarterly 
Review"  for  Dec,  1823,  and  for  Jan.,  1830.  The  Rev.  Augustus 
Campbell,  formerly  Rector  of  Battersey,  in  Cheshire,  has  some  valu- 
able thoughts  on  this  question,  in  his  "  Appeal  to  the  Gentlemen  of 
England,"  and  in  his  Reply  to  the  Edinburgh  Review.  One  of  the 
obvious  evils  of  the  whole  system  of  pluralities  and  non-residence  is 
not  simply  the  concentration  of  the  funds  of  the  Church  in  the  hands 
of  sinecures,  but  the  exclusion  of  others  from  their  sacred  work.  As 
late  as  the  year  1831,  a  very  sensible  and  caustic  writer  remarks: 
"There  are  now  in  tliis  kingdom  thousands  of  clergymen  without 


PECUNIARY  SUPPORT   OF   MINISTERS.  403 

while  they  were  far  from  believing  that  tithes 
w^ere  the  original  maintenance  of  ministers  un- 
der the  Gospel,  were  slow  in  adopting  the  doc- 
trince  that  the  ministry  were  not  entitled  to  a 
support  by  the  laws  of  the  land.  They  regard- 
ed the  Jewish  law  on  this  subject  rather  as 
something  in  the  form  of  a  'precedent,  than  as 
an  authoritative  law.  It  was  not  the  letter 
they  cared  for,  but  the  spirit.  The  thought 
was  often  repeated  in  their  public  assemblies, 
"  Take  heed  that  thou  forsake  not  the  Levite, 
as  long  as  thou  livest  upon  the  earth."  They 
eschewed  the  doctrine  of  tithes,  as  they  ab- 
horred Prelacy  and  Rome  ;  but  they  adhered 
to  the  doctrine  of  a  legal  support  for  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel.  In  the  New  England 
States  this  legal  provision  existed  until  quite 
a  late  period  in  their  history.  Within  the 
recollection  of  many  persons  now  living,  no 
man  in  the  community  was  there  exempted 
from  an  annual  assessment  for  the  support  of 
the  Gospel  in  that  particular  denomination  of 
Christians  to  which  he  belonged.  If  he  be- 
longed to  no  denomination,  or  was  a  professed 
infidel,  he  was   still  constrained  to  bear  his 

benefices,  who  are  perfectly  qualified  by  learning  to  undertake  the 
charge  of  them."  Yet  the  Bishop  of  London,  in  his  Charge,  delivered 
July,  1830,  says,  "  I  would  not  be  understood  to  declare  against  all 
pluralities ;  on  the  contrary,  I  am  convinced  that  under  the  present 
circumstances  of  our  Church,  they  are  in  many  cases  necessary,  and 
in  some  highly  useful." 


404  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

proportion  of  tlio  biirdon  in  suslniiiing"  an  in- 
stitution from  wliicli  lie  received  so  many 
indirect  benefits,  and  wliicli  was  so  intimately 
inwoven  with  the  best  interests  of  the  State. 

Yet  have  we  no  hesitation  in  saying',  that 
the  voluntary  principle  is  the  true  principle; 
not  only  is  it  more  in  keepinn^  with  the  spirit 
of  our  free  institutions,  but  with  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  Christianity.  The  great  Head  of  the 
Church  has  thrown  the  support  of  his  ministers 
upon  the  unconstrained  liberality  of  those  who 
attend  on  their  ministrations;  or  rather  upon 
their  rectitude  and  justice ;  thus  putting  to  the 
test  their  loyalty  to  him,  and  their  own  views 
of  the  value  of  a  preached  Gospel.  It  is  the 
revealed  law  of  his  kingdom,  that  "  they  who 
serve  at  the  altar  shall  live  by  the  altar." 
This  is  indeed  but  a  republication  of  that 
great  law  of  nature,  that  "  the  laborer  is  wor- 
thy of  his  hire ;"  yet  is  such  a  law,  distinctly 
published,  no  unnecessary  statute.  If  God  did 
not  see  fit  to  leave  the  question  of  the  tem- 
poral support  of  his  ministers  to  the  discretion 
of  the  people ;  by  that  very  decision  he  ex- 
pressed his  own  judgment  of  the  dependence 
of  his  ministers,  and  of  the  duty  of  the  people 
to  furnish  them  a  competent  and  generous 
supply.  This  is  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  law. 
And  nothing  is  more  obvious,  than  that  the 
great  principle  of  this  statute  is  embodied  in 


PECUNIARY  SUPPORT  OP  MINISTERS.  405 

the  teacliiiigs  of  the  New  Testament.  When 
the  Saviour  sent  forth  the  early  teachers  of 
Christianity,  he  directed  them  to  "  provide 
neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  brass  in  their 
purses;  nor  scrip,  neither  two  coats,  neither 
shoes,  nor  yet  stav^es."  Theij  were  not  to  pro- 
vide them,  because  they  were  to  be  provided 
by  others.  If  they  possessed  them,  they  were 
not  to  provide  them;  they  were  to  be  pro- 
vided by  the  people  among  whom  they  la- 
bored. The  expressive  reason  which  he  as- 
signs for  this  injunction  is  the  law  to  which 
we  have  referred,  "  the  workman  is  worthy  of 
his  hire."  The  Apostle  Paul,  in  writing  to 
the  Corinthians,  devotes  a  paragraph  to  this 
subject.  "  Who  goeth  a  warfare  at  any  time 
at  his  own  charges  ?  Who  planteth  a  vine- 
yard, and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit  thereof?  Or 
who  feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the 
milk  of  the  flock  ?  Say  I  these  things  as  a 
man  ?  or  saith  not  the  law  tlie  same  also  ?  For 
it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt 
not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth 
out  the  corn.  Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen  ? 
Or  saith  he  it  altogether  for  our  sokes  ?  For 
our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written :  that  he 
that  plougheth  should  plough  in  hope ;  and 
that  he  that  thresheth  in  hope  should  be  par- 
taker of  his  hope.  If  we  have  sown  unto  you 
spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we  shall 


406  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

reap  your  carnal  lhi7igs?  If  others  be  par- 
takers of  this  power  over  you,  are  not  we 
rather  ?  Nevertlieless  we  hav^e  not  used  this 
power:  but  suffer  all  things,  lest  we  should 
hinder  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Do  ye  not  know 
that  the?/  which  minister  about  holy  things  live  of 
the  things  of  the  temple,  and  they  which  wait  at 
the  altar  are  partakers  with  the  altar  ?  Even 
so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they  which 
preach  the  Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel." 

It  is  no  unnatural  exposition  to  regard  this 
passage  as  indicating  the  duty  of  the  Church 
in  respect  of  her  temporal  maintenance  of  the 
ministry.  It  is  the  ordaining  of  her  great 
Head,  that  "  they  w  liicli  preach  the  Gospel 
should  live  of  the  Gospel."  It  is  certainly  a 
fair  question,  too.  What  are  we  to  understand 
by  the  phrase,  "  shall  live  of  the  Gospel  ?" 
The  answer  to  this  question  must  be  found  in 
the  kind  and  liberal  spirit  of  Christianity,  and 
in  the  bosoms  of  those  in  whom  that  spirit 
dwells.  The  amount  of  support  to  which 
every  faithful  minister  is  entitled,  is  one  of 
tliose  relative  duties  which  falls  within  the 
comprehensive  precept, "  Whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  so  to  them.'" 
It  is  no  extravagance  to  say,  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  people  to  elevate  their  ministers  above 
want;  to  enable  them  to  be  honest  men,  re- 
spectable men,  charitable  and  public-spirited 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT   OP   MINISTERS.  407 

men.  They  ought  to  have  the  opportunity, 
not  only  of  being-  employed  in  the  appropriate 
duties  of  their  office,  but  of  discharging  its 
functions  advantageously.  And  is  it  too  much 
to  say,  that  they  ought  to  be  enabled  to  edu- 
cate their  children,  and  make  some  provision 
for  old  age ;  or,  should  they  be  cut  off  in  the 
midst  of  their  days,  some  provision  for  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless  when  they  them- 
selves sleep  in  the  dust  ?  From  the  divine 
appointment  in  reference  to  the  support  of  the 
Levitical  Priesthood,  and  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  it  is  quite  obvious  tliat  the  Christian 
law  on  this  subject  cannot  be  interpreted  to 
mean  any  thing  less  than  a  Gomfortahle  support 
for  the  situation  in  which  the  party  is  jjlaced  hij 
the  Divine  Providence.  As  great  diversity  ex- 
ists in  the  location  of  the  ministry,  so  this  cir- 
cumstance must  give  rise  to  diversity  in  the 
amount  of  their  support.  It  is  only  some  gen- 
eral rules  that  can  be  adopted  in  regard  to  it. 
And  the  general  law,  beyond  controversy  is, 
that  it  should  be  sufficient  to  enable  those  who 
preach  the  Gospel  to  live  "  of  the  Gospel." 

This  is  the  law  of  God's  house.  It  is  a  re- 
vealed precept  which  men  have  no  more  right 
to  transgress  than  any  other  precept  in  the 
Bible.  It  has  no  specified  penalty  ;  it  is  one 
of  those  laws  which  the  Great  Lawgiver  will 
enforce  in  his  own  way,  and  by  penalties  that 


408  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

are  executed  in  tlie  dispensations  of  his  ob- 
serving and  searcliing  providence.  He  has 
put  in  his  claim  for  such  a  portion  of  the  prop- 
erty of  his  people,  as  shall  furnish  a  comfort- 
able support  to  his  ministers ;  he  claims  this 
portion  of  their  property,  just  as  he  does  the 
Lord's  Day,  as  his  portion  of  their  time.  It 
does  not  belong-  to  men ;  it  is  God's,  just  as 
truly  as  were  the  tithes  under  the  Levitical 
Law.  Ministers  are  his  ambassadors  ;  and  the 
terms  on  which  he  employs  them  are,  that  they 
shall  receive  a  competent  support  from  the 
people  to  whom  he  sends  them.  They  hold 
his  draft  upon  them  for  this  indefinite  amount ; 
and  it  is  for  them  to  honor,  or  dishonor,  the 
draft  of  their  redeeming  King. 

To  what  extent  he  is  honored  in  this  claim, 
is  an  inquiry  which  will  not  endure  the  most 
rigid  scrutiny.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for 
ministers  to  receive  no  stated  and  stipulated 
support  whatever ;  but  to  depend  exclusively 
upon  the  annual,  or  periodical  subscriptions  of 
tliose  to  whom  they  minister.  This  is  too  un- 
certain a  dependence  ;  it  is  fickle  as  the  heart 
of  man ;  nor  ought  any  minister  to  be  thus 
ensnared  and  tempted  to  shape  his  ministra- 
tions so  as  to  please  men,  rather  than  save 
them,  or  to  please  any  one  part  of  his  people, 
rather  than  another.  The  permanence  of  the 
pastoral  relation  has  been  not  a  little  affected 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT  OP  MINISTERS,  409 

by  such  arrangements  as  these  ;  nor  were  it 
any  marvel,  if  where  they  prevail,  no  such  per- 
manent relation  should  ever  he  recognized. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing,  too,  for  congrega- 
tions who  stipulate  to  furnish  their  minister  a 
stated  salary,  to  put  his  own  delicacy  to  the 
test,  by  imposing  the  duty  on  him  of  begging 
it  from  the  pulpit.  Such  arrangements  are  de- 
grading to  the  ministry,  and  cannot  fail  to  be 
injurious  to  the  influence  of  the  ministry. 

There  is  also  a  most  dishonorable  failure  on 
the  part  of  many  congregations  to  meet  their 
engagements  with  their  minister ;  they  meet 
them  as  suits  their  convenience,  or  do  not 
meet  them  at  all.  They  treat  their  minister 
as  they  dare  not  treat  a  hired  servant,  and 
deny  him  his  rights,  because  they  know  that 
he  would  be  slow  to  enforce  them  by  legal 
process. 

Ministers,  not  a  few,  also  there  are,  not  in 
new  and  poor  districts  merely,  but  in  those 
that  are  well  cultivated  and  rich,  who  have 
not  a  decent  maintenance  ;  and  who,  without 
some  unlooked  for  interposition  of  Providence, 
must  in  their  advanced  years  become  the  ben- 
eficiaries of  the  public  bounty.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  although  their  hearts  may  be 
set  upon  their  work,  their  time  and  their  hands 
are  employed  in  secular  concerns.  It  is  in 
vain  to  think  of  their  being  diligent  and  de- 

18 


410  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

voted  ministers  :  the  thing  is  impossible;  they 
must  have  bread.  All  this  is  wrong.  It  is  "  rob- 
bing God."  It  is  refusing  him  his  "  tithes  and 
olTerings,"  and  taking  the  bread  from  his  own 
house.  Many  a  pastor  who  has  loved  his  flock 
as  his  own  soul,  and  would  rejoice  to  serve 
them  with  unwearied  diligence,  is  constrained 
to  accuse  them  before  God,  for  withholding 
w  hat  he  gives  to  the  fowls  of  the  air. 

We  are  not  pleading  for  a  wealthy  ministry  ; 
we  should  be  sorry  to  see  ministers  wealthy, 
unless  they  happen  to  become  so  by  inher 
itance,  or  by  unlooked-for  domestic  alliances, 
And  even  then,  it  requires  more  self-denial 
than  the  most  of  ministers  possess,  under  such 
circumstances,  to  make  full  proof  of  their  min- 
istry. There  is  little  doubt  that  the  overgrown 
wealth  of  very  many  of  the  ministers,  and 
more  of  the  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England, 
is  a  curse  both  to  the  ministers  and  the  peo- 
ple. Wealthy  ministers  are  not  the  men  wdio 
are  most  useful  in  the  Church.  The  evangel- 
ical Dissenters  of  England  have  accomplished 
far  more  for  the  interests  of  vital  piety,  than 
all  its  ecclesiastical  aristocracy. 

The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  this  land  are 
riot  much  exposed  to  enter  into  the  service  of 
the  Church  from  the  "  love  of  filthy  lucre."  We 
do  not  solicit  for  them  wealth ;  but  we  do  soli- 
cit competence.    We  do  not  desire  them  to  be 


PECUNIARY  SUPPORT  OF  MINISTERS,  411 

independent  of  their  people  ;  but  we  do  desire 
to  see  them  raised  above  the  dependence  of  pau- 
pers. They  are  a  divinely  appointed  instru- 
mentality for  accomplishing  the  most  important 
and  glorious  work  which  God  is  accomplishing 
in  this  apostate  world  ;  and  their  qualifications 
and  their  circumstances  ought  not  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  indiflerence  either  to  themselves,  or  to 
others.  Taking  human  nature  as  it  is,  the  ex- 
tremes of  wealth  and  poverty  are  alike  un- 
friendly to  their  influence.  Anxious  cares  and 
bitter  temptations  are  the  growth  of  both,  and 
they  agitate  the  heart.  Wealth  perplexes ; 
poverty  discourages,  and  by  it  the  spirit  of  a 
minister  is  depressed  and  broken.  A  minister 
may  be  pitied  as  a  j^oor  man  ;  but  so  long  as 
he  is  the  object  of  compassion,  he  is  not  re- 
spected as  a  servant  of  the  Most  High  God. 

I  cannot  help  regarding  this  subject  as  one 
of  great  importance  to  the  Church  of  God.  It 
is  not  easy  to  account  for  this  reluctance  to 
support  the  Gospel.  If  it  were  nothing  more 
than  a  sense  of  justice,  one  would  think  this 
alone  sufficient  to  rescue  the  ministry  from  this 
depression.  Men  are  slow  to  admit  that  they 
are  indebted  to  their  religious  teachers.  They 
acknowledge  other  claims :  they  do  not  hesitate 
to  allow  a  fair  and  full  recompense  to  their 
legal,  or  medical  advisers  ;  yet  feel  little  com- 
punction in  withholding  a  suitable  recompense 


412  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT, 

from  their  spiritual  <;uides.  There  are  narrow 
views  on  this  subject.  Men  there  are  who 
live  in  the  enjoyment  of  every  convenience, 
who  grudge  their  minister  what  they  do  not 
refuse  to  the  operatives  in  their  manufactories, 
or  the  laborers  in  their  fields. 

The  radical  difficulty  would  seem  to  be,  that 
there  are  so  many  in  the  community  who  re- 
gard the  Gospel  as  of  little  value,  and  the 
instructions  of  the  pulpit  of  little  importance, 
either  to  themselves,  to  their  children,  or  to 
their  fellow-men.  Yet  if  the  Bible,  and  uni- 
versal experience,  may  be  relied  on,  there  is 
nothing  which  can  be  less  safely  dispensed 
with  than  the  stated  ministrations  of  God's 
sanctuary.  As  "godliness  is  j!;rq/z/«^/e,  having 
the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as 
tliat  which  is  to  come ;"  so  is  a  preached  Gos- 
pel. Without  it  a  well-governed  community 
becomes  lawless  ;  a  peaceful  community  is  in- 
volved in  broils;  an  intelligent  community  be- 
comes ignorant ;  a  rich  community  is  vicious 
and  ruined  ;  a  community  that  is  poor  be- 
comes more  impoverished.  The  vices  which 
the  Sabbath  and  the  sanctuary  would  restrain 
and  suppress,  cost  tenfold  more  than  a  preach- 
ed Gospel.  Upon  the  mere  principles  of  a 
wise  and  rigid  economy,  no  people,  be  they 
ever  so  poor,  can  afford  to  live  without  a 
Christian   minister.     If  cities,  and  towns,  and 


PECUNIARY  SUPPORT  OF   MINISTERS.  413 

villages  would  not  bring  down  upon  themselves 
a  burden  of  pauperism  which  is  too  heavy  to 
be  borne,  and  multiply  their  almshouses  and 
their  prisons  to  an  extent  that  shall  hll  them 
with  alarm ;  they  must  do  more  to  check  the 
evil  at  the  fountain  head,  by  supplying  the 
poor  with  a  laborious  and  faithful  ministry. 
No  philanthropy  can  augment  the  physical  re- 
sources of  a  people  that  is  regardless  of  its 
moral  resources.  It  is  but  for  a  community  to 
outgrow  the  means  for  its  religious  instruction, 
and  it  has  outgrown  the  means  for  its  prosperi- 
ty. There  is  nothing' that  tells  so  effectively 
on  the  well-being  of  the  great  mass  of  society, 
as  the  instructions  of  the  Christian  pulpit. 

If  from  this  glance  at  "  the  life  that  now 
is,"  we  turn  to  "  that  which  is  to  come,"  what 
shall  we  say  ?  I  make  no  apology  here  for 
using  the  language  of  the  great  Dr.  Owen, 
from  a  discourse  preached  before  the  English 
Parliament  in  the  year  1646.  Among  all  the 
modern  appeals  for  the  extension  of  the  Gos- 
pel, I  find  nothing  so  earnest,  or  so  stimulat- 
ing. "  No  men  in  the  world,"  says  this  eminent 
writer,  "  want  help  like  them  who  want  the 
Gospel.  Of  all  distresses,  want  of  the  Gospel 
cries  loudest  for  relief.  A  man  may  want 
liberty,  and  yet  be  happy,  as  Joseph  was ;  a 
man  may  want  peace,  and  yet  be  happy,  as 
David  was ;  a  man  may  want  plenty,  and  yet 


414  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

be  full  of  comfort  as  Micabah  was ;  but  he 
tliat  wants  the  Gospel,  wants  every  thing  that 
should  do  liini  good.  A  throne  without  the 
Gospel,  is  but  the  Devil's  dungeon ;  wealth 
without  the  Gospel,  is  fuel  for  hell ;  advance- 
ment without  the  Gospel,  is  but  going  high  to 
have  the  greater  fall.  What  do  men  need  that 
want  the  Gospel  ?  They  want  Jesus  Christ,  for 
he  is  revealed  only  by  the  Gospel.  He  is  all 
and  in  all,  and  where  he  is  wanting,  there  can 
be  no  good.  Hunger  cannot  truly  be  satisfied 
without  manna,  the  bread  of  life  which  is  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  what  shall  ^  hungry  man  do  that 
hath  no  bread  ?  Thirst  cannot  be  quenched 
without  a  living  spring,  which  is  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  what  shall  a  thirsty  soul  do  without  water? 
A  captive,  as  we  all  are,  cannot  be  delivered 
without  redemption,  which  is  Jesus  Christ; 
and  what  shall  the  prisoner  do  without  his 
ransom  ?  Fools,  as  we  all  are,  cannot  be  in- 
structed without  wisdom,  which  is  Jesus  Christ; 
without  him  we  perish  in  our  folly.  All  build- 
ing without  him  is  on  the  sand,  and  Avill  surely 
fall.  All  working  without  him  is  in  the  fire, 
where  it  will  be  consumed.  All  riches  without 
him  have  wings,  and  will  fly  away.  A  dun- 
geon with  Christ  is  a  throne,  and  a  throne 
without  Christ  is  a  hell.  Nothing  so  ill,  but 
Christ  will  compensate.  7VII  mercies  without 
Christ  are  bitter,  and  every  cup  is  sweet  that 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT  OP  MINISTERS.  415 

is  seasoned  with  but  a  drop  of  his  blood :  he 
is  truly  the  love  and  delight  of  the  sons  of 
men.  He  is  the  Way ;  men  without  him  are 
Cains,  murderers,  and  vagabonds.  He  is  the 
Truth ;  men  without  him  are  liars,  like  the 
devil  who  was  so  of  old.  He  is  the  Life  ;  men 
without  him  are  dead,  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins.  He  is  the  Light ;  men  without  him  are 
in  darkness,  and  go  they  know  not  whither. 
He  is  the  Vine  ;  those  that  are  not  grafted  in 
him  are  withered  branches,  prepared  for  the 
fire.  He  is  the  Rock  ;  men  not  built  on  him 
are  carried  away  with  a  flood.     He   is  Alpha 

\  and  Omega,  the  First  and  the  Last,  the  Author 
and  the  Ender,  the  founder  and  the  finisher  of 
our  salvation ;  he  that  hath  not  him,  hath  nei- 

!  ther  beginning  of  good,  nor  shall  have  an  end 
of  misery.  O  blessed  Jesus,  how  much  bet- 
ter were  it  not  to  be,  than  to  be  without  thee  ; 
never  to  be  born,  than  not  to  die  in  thee.  A 
thousand  hells  come  short  of  this,^ — eternally 
to  want  Jesus,  as  men  do  who  want  the  Gos- 
pel. They  want  all  holy  communion  with 
God,  wherein  the  only  happiness  of  the  soul 
doth  consist.  Without  him,  the  soul  in  the 
body  is  a  dead  soul  in  a  living  sepulchre. 
They  want  all  the  ordinances  of  God,  the  joy 
of  our  hearts,  and  the  comfort  of  our  souls. 
O  the  sweetness  of  a  Sabbath  !  the  heavenly 
raptures  of  prayer  !    O  the  glorious  communion 


41G  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

of  saints,  which  such  men  are  deprived  of! 
If  they  knew  the  value  of  the  hidden  pearl, 
and  tliese  things  were  to  be  purchased,  what 
would  such  poor  souls  not  part  with  for  them  ? 
They  will  at  last  want  heaven  and  salvation ; 
they  shall  never  come  into  the  presence  of 
God  in  glory ;  never  inhabit  a  glorious  man- 
sion. They  shall  never  behpld  Jesus  Christ, 
but  when  they  shall  call  for  rocks  and  moun- 
tains to  fall  on  them,  and  to  hide  them  from  his 
presence.  They  shall  want  light  in  utter  dark- 
ness; they  shall  want  life  under  the  second 
death ;  want  refreshment  in  the  midst  of  flames; 
want  healing  under  the  gnawing  of  conscience ; 
want  grace,  continuing  to  blaspheme;  want 
glory,  in  full  misery;  and  which  is  the  sum  of 
all,  they  shall  want  an  end  of  all  this : — for 
'  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  their  fire  is  not 
quenched.' " 

Such  thoughts  as  these  have  not  often  been 
addressed  to  the  English  Parliament.  It  is  a 
tremendous  inquiry,  WJiat  do  men  need,  that 
want  the  Gospel  ?  "  If  our  Gospel  be  hid,  it 
is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost."  Men  who  are 
destitute  of  it,  are  destitute  of  the  only  ap- 
pointed means  of  salvation ;  for  there  is  salva- 
tion in  no  other.  There  are  no  other  means 
of  fitting  men  for  heaven  ;  no  other  instrument 
of  turning  tliem  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God ;  nor  is  it 


PECUNIARY   SUPPORT   OP   MINISTERS.  417 

possible  that  it  should  have  a  saving  effect 
upon  those  who  do  not  enjoy  it.  A  commu- 
nity without  the  preached  Gospel !  There  is 
nothing  worth  living  for  in  such  a  community. 
It  may  be  rich  in  rivers,  in  ore,  and  luxuri- 
ant in  soil ;  it  may  be  well  watered  as  the 
plains  of  Sodom,  and  as  accursed  as  they.  I 
would  not  educate  a  familv  of  children  in  such 
a  community,  for  all  the  prairies  between  the 
Alleghany  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Of  what 
value  are  lands,  and  rivers,  and  forests,  if  the 
pearl  of  great  price  is  not  there  ? 

We  are  driven  to  the  conclusion,  that  the 
deficiency  in  the  support  of  ministers  is  to  be 
attributed  to  a  defective  estimate  of  this  hid- 
den pearl. 


18* 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

PRAYER    FOR    MINISTERS. 

Such  is  the  importance  of  the  Christian 
ministry,  that  \vc  are  constrained  to  solicit 
for  it  one  particular  favor.  It  is  a  request 
in  which  we  feel  a  deep  personal  concern. 
Pray  for  us.  "  Pray  for  us,"  says  Paul ;  pray 
for  us  is  the  hearty  response  from  every  Chris- 
tian pulpit  in  the  land,  and  in  the  wide  world. 
If  the  prayers  of  good  men  were  solicited  by 
such  a  man  as  Paul ;  and  if,  with  his  giant  in- 
tellect, his  eminent  spirituality,  and  his  inti- 
mate communion  with  God  and  things  unseen, 
this  holy  man  needed  this  encouragement 
and  impulse  in  his  work ;  who  will  not  say, 
"  Brethren,  pray  for  us,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  may  have  free  course  and  be  glorified !" 

It  is  a  delightful  thought  to  a  young  man 
entering  upon  the  ministry  of  reconciliation, 
that,  unworthy  as  he  is,  the  prayers  of  thou- 
sands of  God's  people  are  continually  going 
up,  on  his  behalf,  to  his  Father  and  their  Fa- 
ther, to  his  God  and  their  God.     He  seems  to 


PRAYER   FOR   MINISTERS.  419 

hear  the  Church  of  God  saying  to  him,  We 
cannot  go  to  this  sacred  work  ;  but  we  will 
follow  you  with  our  prayers  !  He  seems  to 
hear  many  a  Christian  parent  say  to  him,  We 
have  no  son  to  send  to  this  hallowed  vocation ; 
but  go  you  to  it,  and  you  shall  not  want  an 
interest  in  our  prayers !  Not  a  few  of  the 
churches  of  this  land  have  enjoyed  the  high 
privilege  of  sending  forth  into  the  spiritual 
harvest,  no  inconsiderable  number  of  beloved 
youth  from  their  own  more  immediate  family. 
And  it  has  been  the  usage  of  such  churches, 
to  an  extent  that  is  gratefully  remembered,  to 
assemble  for  the  more  special  service  of  com- 
mending their  young  brethren  to  the  care  and 
faithfulness  of  a  covenant  keeping  God.  How 
fitting,  in  every  way,  is  such  a  service  !  how 
full  of  encouragement  to  the  heart  that  trem- 
bles under  a  view  of  the  responsibilities  of  the 
sacred  office !  how  delightful  this  spiritual  im- 
petus to  a  mind  almost  ready  to  sink  under  its 
own  conscious  infirmities  !  And  how  unspeak- 
ably precious  the  thought  to  all  who  labor  in 
this  great  work,  whether  in  youthful,  or  riper 
years,  that  they  are  thus  habitually  remem- 
bered in  the  prayers  of  the  churches!  Let  the 
thought  sink  deep  into  the  heart  of  every 
church,  that  their  minister  will  be  very  much 
such  a  minister  as  their  prayers  may  make 
him.     If  nothing  short   of  Omnipotent  grace 


420  •  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

can  make  a  Christian,  notliini^  less  than  this 
can  make  a  fiiithful  and  successful  minister  of 
the  Gospel. 

We  entreat  the  churches  to  regard  with  a 
more  deliberate  and  devout  mind  the  ijreat 
work  itself  to  which  their  ministers  are  de- 
voted. To  explain  the  doctrines  and  enforce 
the  duties  of  genuine  Christianity;  to  defend 
the  truth  against  all  the  subtlety  and  versatil- 
ity of  error ;  to  sustain  within  their  own  minds 
that  sense  of  God's  presence,  and  of  those 
moral  sanctions  which  are  revealed  in  his 
word,  and  that  deep  and  tender  impression  of 
the  things  that  are  unseen  and  eternal,  that 
are  necessary  to  give  earnestness,  and  that 
consistent  life  and  deportment  that  are  neces- 
sary to  give  effect  to  their  preaching;  to  do 
this  in  a  way  that  shall  adapt  itself  to  times, 
places,  occasions  and  characters,  and  without 
being  disheartened  by  difficulties,  appalled  by 
enemies,  and  weary  of  the  yoke  which  they 
have  taken  upon  them,  is  no  ordinary  work. 
If  a  people  are  looking  for  rich  discourses  from 
their  minister,  their  prayers  must  supply  him 
with  matter;  if  for  faithful  discourses,  their 
prayers  must  urge  him,  by  a  full  and  uncom- 
promising manifestation  of  the  truth,  to  com- 
mend himself  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  if  for  powerful  and  successful 
discourses,   their   prayers   must   make   liim   a 


PRAYER  FOR  MINISTERS.  421 

blessing  to  tlie  souls  of  men.  Would  they 
have  him  come  to  them  in  the  fulness  of  the 
blessings  of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  with  a  heav- 
ing bosom,  a  kindled  eye,  and  a  glowing 
tongue,  and  with  discourses  bathed  in  tears 
and  elaborate  with  prayer;  their  prayers  must 
urge  him  to  pray,  and  their  tears  inspire  his 
thrilling  heart  with  the  strong  yearnings  of 
Christian  afiection.  It  is  in  their  own  closets 
that  the  people  of  God  most  effectually  charge 
upon  the  soul  of  their  beloved  ministers,  to 
take  heed  to  the  ministry  they  have  received 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

And  who  and  what  are  ministers  them- 
selves 1  Frail  men,  fallible,  sinning  men,  ex- 
posed to  every  snare,  to  temptation  in  every 
form ;  and,  from  the  very  post  of  observation 
they  occupy,  the  fairer  mark  for  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  Foe.  They  are  no  mean  victims  the 
great  Adversary  is  seeking,  when  he  Avould 
w^ound  and  cripple  Christ's  ministers.  One 
such  victim  is  worth  more  to  the  kingdom  of 
darkness  than  a  score  of  common  men;  and 
on  this  very  account,  their  temptations  are 
probably  more  subtle  and  severe,  than  those 
encountered  by  ordinary  Christians.  If  this 
subtle  Deceiver  fails  to  destroy  them,  he  art- 
fully aims  at  neutralizing  their  influence  by 
quenching  the  fervor  of  their  piety,  lulling 
them  into   negligence,  and   doing  all  in  his 


422  THE   POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

power  to  render  their  work  irksome.  How 
perilous  the  condition  of  that  minister  then, 
whose  heart  is  not  encourai^ed,  vvliose  hands 
are  not  strengthened,  and  who  is  not  upheld 
by  the  prayers  of  Iiis  people  !  It  is  not  in  his 
own  closet  and  on  his  own  knees  alone,  that 
he  finds  security  and  comfort,  and  ennobling, 
humbling,  and  purifying  thoughts  and  joys; 
but  it  is  when  they  also  seek  them  in  his 
behalf,  that  he  becomes  a  better  and  happier 
man,  and  a  more  useful  minister  of  the  ever- 
lasting Gospel. 

Nothing  gives  a  people  so  much  interest  in 
their  minister,  and  interest  of  the  best  kind,  as 
to  pray  for  him.  They  love  him  more,  they 
respect  him  more,  they  attend  more  cheerfully 
and  profitably  on  his  ministrations,  the  more 
they  commend  him  to  God  in  their  prayers. 
They  feel  a  deeper  interest  in  his  work  the 
more  they  pray  for  him;  and  their  children 
feel  a  deeper  interest  both  in  him  and  in  his 
preaching,  when  they  habitually  listen  to  sup- 
plications that  aflfectionately  commend  him  to 
the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace. 

The  results  of  a  preached  Gospel  are  as- 
sociated with  the  most  interesting  realities  in 
the  universe.  Nay,  they  form  no  small  part  of 
these  aflfecting  realities  themselves.  There 
are  no  such  bright  and  refulgent  exhibitions 
of  the  ever-blessed  and  adorable  Godhead,  as 


PRAYER   FOR  MINISTERS.  423 

are  made  where  a  preached  Gospel  has  free 
course  and  is  glorified.  That  wondrous  exhi- 
bition of  the  Divine  nature,  that  progressive 
development  which  is  in  itself  so  desirable, 
and  in  its  consequences  so  endeared  to  every 
holy  mind,  never  shines  forth  with  such  im- 
pressive distinctness  and  subduing  lustre,  as 
when  the  hearers  of  his  truth  and  grace,  pro- 
claimed from  lips  of  clay,  indicate  that  appear- 
ing of  his  great  glory.  Had  the  people  of  God 
on  the  earth  minds  as  pure  as  the  seraph  intel- 
lect around  the  throne  ;  with  what  deep  con- 
cern, solicitude  and  prayer,  would  they  watch 
the  course  and  follow  the  labors  of  the  hum- 
ble and  faithful  ambassadors  of  the  cross,  as 
they  proclaim  this  glorious  Gospel,  and  as  the 
effects  of  their  preaching  discover  new  and 
perpetual  exhibitions  of  the  manifested  Deity  ! 
The  effects  of  their  preaching  upon  the  souls 
of  men,  are  nothing  less  than  the  savor  of  life 
unto  life  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them 
that  perish  of  death  unto  death.  The  same 
light  and  motives  that  are  the  means  of  fitting 
some  for  heaven,  abused  and  perverted,  only 
fit  others  for  hell.  O  it  is  at  a  fearful  expense 
that  ministers  are  ever  allowed  to  enter  the 
pulpit  without  being  preceded,  accompanied, 
and  followed  by  the  earnest  prayers  of  the 
churches.  It  is  no  marvel  that  the  pulpit  is  so 
powerless,  and  ministers  so  often  disheartened 


424  THE   POWER   OK   THE    PULPIT. 

"vvlien  there  arc  so  lew  to  hold  up  their  hands. 
The  consequence  of  ne<T:lccting  this  duty  is 
seen  and  felt  in  the  spiritual  declension  of  the 
churches,  and  it  will  be  seen  and  felt  in  the 
everlasting  perdition  of  men ;  while  the  con- 
sequence of  reiTardini^  it  Avould  he  the  in- 
gathering of  multitudes  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  new  glories  to  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain. 

On  his  own  behalf  therefore,  and  on  the 
behalf  of  his  beloved  and  respected  brethren 
in  the  ministry,  the  writer  would  crave  an 
interest  in  the  prayers  of  all  who  love  the 
Saviour,  and  the  souls  of  men.  We  are  the 
dispensers  of  God's  truth,  and  at  best  fall  far 
below  our  mighty  theme.  The  duties  of  our 
calling  return  upon  us  with  every  returning 
week  and  day.  They  often  come  upon  us  with 
many  and  conflicting  demands.  They  some- 
times put  all  our  thoughts  in  requisition,  and 
at  the  very  time  when  we  have  lost  the  power 
of  thinking ;  and  all  the  ardor  and  strength 
of  our  affections,  when  we  are  the  least  sus- 
ceptible of  them.  There  is  associated  with 
these  demands  that  pressing  solicitude,  and 
corroding  anxiety,  which  exhausts  our  vigor, 
prostrates  our  courage,  and  drinks  up  our 
spirits.  And  then  there  are  so  many  disap- 
pointments in  our  work,  that  we  need  the 
sympathy  of  prayer.     Our  spirit  is  sometimes 


PRAYER  FOR   MINISTERS.  425 

stirred  within  us,  and  we  go  forth  to  our 
people  flushed  with  the  hope  of  rescuing  them 
from  everlasting  burnings;  and  in  some  hap- 
less hour  of  self-sufficiency,  we  vainly  imagine 
the  work  and  triumph  are  our  own.  We  are 
instant  in  season,  and  out  of  season ;  we  make 
a  business  of  preparing  for  the  conflict,  some- 
times polishing  our  arrows  and  sometimes  leav- 
ing them  rough  and  barbed.  We  put  on  our 
armor,  and  enter  the  field  with  the  deter- 
mination to  lay  out  all  our  strength,  and  with 
the  confident  assurance  that  we  must  do  exe- 
cution. But  wli.it  a  lesson  of  self-abasement ! 
We  cannot  convert  a  single  soul.  "  We  have 
piped  unto  them,  and  they  have  not  danced ; 
we  have  mourned  unto  them,  and  they  have 
not  lamented."  We  urge  the  Divine  com- 
mands, and  they  trample  upon  his  authority ; 
we  urge  his  threatenings,  and  they  despise  his 
justice  ;  we  speak  of  his  promises,  they  heed 
not  his  faithfulness  ;  of  his  Son,  and  they  tread 
him  under  their  feet ;  of  his  patience  and  long- 
suffering,  but  their  impenitence  and  obduracy 
are  proof  against  them  all.  We  reason  and 
expostulate  with  them,  until  the  obstacles  to 
their  conversion  seem  to  us  to  rise  the  higher 
by  every  effort  to  surmount  them;  until  we 
sink  in  despondency,  and  cry  out,  w  hat  mighty 
power  can  break  these  adamantine  hearts  ? 
what  omnipotent  grasp  can  rescue  these  per- 


42G  THE  POWER  OP  THE  PULPIT, 

ishluir  men  from  everlasting  burnings  ?  O  ye 
blood-bouglit  cluirches,  your  ministers  need 
your  prayers,  for  the  exceeding  greatness  of 
that  power  wliicli  God  wrouglit  in  Christ  when 
he  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

We  have  a  concert  of  prayer  for  the  hea- 
then, another  for  Sabbath  scliools,  and  another 
for  tlie  blessing  of  God  upon  the  distribution 
of  religious  tracts.     Why  shall  we    overlook 
the  great  means  of  God's  own  appointment  for 
the  salvation  of  men  ?    May  there  not  be  some- 
thing in  the  form  of  a  concert  of  prayer  for  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  ?    If  nothing  better  can 
be  suggested,  why  may  there  not  be  a  general 
understanding  among  Christian  men,  and  Chris- 
tian families,  to  set  apart  the  morning  of  every 
Lord's  Day,  for  this  great  and  special  object  ? 
This  was  the  usage  in  the  family  of  my  ven- 
erable father,  and  it  has  long  been  my  own. 
And  it  is  a  most  precious  privilege.     The  time 
is  a  fitting  one  ;  and  such  a  service  would  not 
fail  to  exert  a  delightful  influence  on  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  sanctuary.     "  Before  they  call  I 
will  answer ;  and  while  they  are  yet  speaking 
I  will  hear."    Should  God  give  to  the  churches 
the  spirit  of  prayer  for  their  ministers,  it  would 
be  with  the  purpose  of  answering  it.     "  He 
will  regard   the   prayer  of  the   destitute,  not 
despise  their  prayer."     It  is  WTitten,  that  "  on 
every  dwelling-place  of  Mount  Zion,  he  will 


PRAYER  FOR  MINISTERS.  427 

create  a  fire  and  a  smoke  ;"  nor  will  the  altar 
be  profaned,  nor  the  incense  less  fragrant,  if 
those  words  of  hope  are  more  often  upon  the 
lips  of  those  who  oifer  it,  "  Clothe  thy  priests 
with  salvation,  that  thy  saints  may  shout  with 
joyfulness  !"  Nor  is  this  all.  Let  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  have  an  habitual  remem- 
brance at  the  domestic  altar.  "  It  is  no  small 
thing,"  says  a  modern  writer  of  our  own  city, 
"  for  any  congregation  to  have  daily  cries  for 
God's  blessing  ascending  from  a  hundred  fire- 
sides. What  a  spring  of  refreshment  to  a  pas- 
tor !  The  family  devotions  of  praying  Kidder- 
minster, no  doubt,  made  Baxter  a  better  min- 
ister, and  a  happier  man ;  and  it  is  possible  we 
are  reaping  the  fruits  of  them  in  his  '  Saint's 
Rest,'  and  '  Dying  Thoughts.'  "* 

Ye  then,  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord, 
keep  not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest.  When 
the  churches  cease  to  pray  for  ministers,  min- 
isters will  no  longer  be  a  blessing  to  the 
churches.  Brethren,  pray  for  us,  that  w^e  may 
be  kept  from  sin  ; — that  we  may  walk  circum- 
spectly, not  as  fools,  but  as  wise,  redeeming 
the  time  ; — that  our  hearts  may  be  more  devo- 
ted to  God,  and  our  lives  a  more  impressive 
exemplification  of  the  Gospel  we  preach ; — that 

*  "  Thoughts  on  Family  Worship,"  by  James  W.  Alexander,  D.  D, 
No  family  should  want  tliis  most  valuable,  seasonable,  and  beautiful 
volume. 


428  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT, 

we  may  be  more  completely  girded  for  our 
•work  and  our  conflicts,  and  put  on  the  whole 
armor  of  God  ; — that  we  may  be  more  faithful 
and  more  wise  to  win  souls,  and  that  we  may 
keep  under  our  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjec- 
tion, lest  after  having  preached  to  others,  we 
ourselves  be  cast  away.  When  we  turn  our 
thoughts  toward  barren  ordinances,  and  a  fruit- 
less ministry,  our  hearts  sink  within  us,  and 
we  would  fain  throw  ourselves  at  the  feet  of 
the  churches,  and  implore  a  remembrance  in 
their  prayers.  If  you  ever  enter  into  the  '•'  se- 
cret place"  of  the  Most  High,  and  get  near  the 
heart  of  him  your  souls  love  ;  plead  earnestly 
that  his  own  power  may  attend  the  stated 
ministrations  of  his  Gospel.  If  ever  you  lie 
on  Jesus's  bosom,  remember  lis.  Open  your 
desires ;  tell  your  Immanuel  of  his  costly  sac- 
rifice and  wonderful  love  ; — tell  him  of  his 
power  and  our  weakness ;  speak  to  him  of  the 
unutterable  glory,  and  the  interminable  anguish 
beyond  the  grave  ; — with  tears  of  solicitude 
urge  your  suit,  and  tell  him  that  he  has  com- 
mitted the  treasure  to  earthen  vessels,  that  the 
excellency  of  the  power  may  be  all  of  God. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    CONSIDERATION    DUE    TO    THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY. 

In  adverting  to  the  duties  of  the  people, 
growing  out  of  the  relation  which  exists  be- 
tween them  and  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
we  are  constrained  to  go  a  step  farther.  If 
we  have  given  a  just  view  of  the  importance 
of  the  pulpit,  then  has  the  Christian  ministnj 
strong  claims  on  the  kind  and  respectful  consider- 
ation of  their  fellow-men . 

We  speak  not  of  that  consideration  which 
they  deserve  as  m,e?i;  in  this  respect  they  ask 
no  more  than  the  law  of  courtesy  demands, 
and  than  they,  in  common  with  others,  are 
entitled  to,  from  the  varied  degrees  of  personal 
merit.  A  man  of  enlightened  and  enlarged 
views,  of  honorable  feeling  and  correct  de- 
portment, of  enterprising  spirit  and  unobtru- 
sive and  courteous  habits,  most  certainly  does 
not  lose  his  claim  to  the  public  confidence, 
because  he  happens  to  be  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel.  Yet  is  there  a  large  class  of  men  by 
whom  such  a  man  is  regarded  almost  as  liav- 


430  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

ing  lost  caste,  from  the  mere  fact  that  he  cheer- 
fully takes  up  his  cross  and  follows  his  Divine 
Lord !  A  man  from  the  middle,  or  even  the 
lower  orders  of  society,  who  in  other  and 
purely  secular  vocations  has  successfully  con- 
tended with  obstacles  and  discouragements  by 
■which  so  many  others  have  been  disheartened, 
and  made  his  way  to  competency  and  useful- 
ness, is  respected  and  honored  for  the  honest, 
and  bold,  and  persevering  traits  of  character 
Avhicli  have  procured  him  advancement.  Yet 
how  many  such  men  are  found  in  the  Christian 
ministry  with  few  tokens  of  public  regard ! 
Through  difficulty  and  trial  they  travel  on ; 
through  evil  report  and  good  report,  through 
conflict  and  temptation,  they  hold  on  their 
way,  and  sink  almost  unnoticed  to  their  grave. 
With  few  exceptions,  the  educated  and  regu- 
lar clergy  of  the  American  churches  are  men 
of  unexceptionable  character;  where  they  are 
not  so,  not  only  have  they  little  claim  on  the 
public  consideration  as  onen,  but  still  less  as 
ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Even  an  incautious, 
discourteous  and  rude  minister  has  no  cause 
for  complaint,  if  he  pays  the  forfeit  of  his  own 
folly  in  the  loss  of  public  esteem  and  confi- 
dence. 

But  the  consideration  of  which  we  speak 
has  respect  more  especially  to  the  office,  than 
to  the  person  of  the  preacher.     The  tendency 


CONSIDERATION  DUE  TO  THE  MINISTRY.        431 

of  the  age  is  to  depreciate  the  office  of  the 
Christian  ministry.  It  is  a  melancholy  ten- 
dency. "Public  opinion  is  the  queen  of  the 
world."  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  greatly 
dependent  on  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
their  fellow-men.  Yet  may  it  not  be  denied 
that  they  have  not  that  strong  hold  upon  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  the  community 
which  they  enjoyed  in  the  earlier  periods  of 
our  national  history.  With  some  exceptions, 
they  have  not  that  influence  they  once  exerted 
in  their  own  churches;  they  are  not  looked 
up  to  by  the  young,  nor  affectionately  greeted 
by  the  old.  They  have  not  that  place  in  be- 
nevolent and  religious  institutions  which  was 
once  assigned  to  them;  and  where  they  oc- 
cupy them,  it  is  rather  for  the  secondary  pur- 
pose of  augmenting  the  pecuniary  resources 
of  these  institutions,  than  of  mingling  with 
their  more  serious  and  important  counsels. 
And  what  is  much  more  to  be  lamented,  their 
influence  is  scarcely  felt,  out  of  the  pulpit,  in 
the  education  of  the  young,  and  is  being  rap- 
idly excluded  from  the  colleges  of  the  land. 
Few  portions  of  the  country,  unless  it  be  New 
England,  are  looking  to  their  clergy  to  mould 
the  character  of  their  youth,  and  preside  over 
their  more  distinguished  seminaries  of  learn- 
ing. The  public  mind  has  taken  the  alarm 
lest  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  without  which  no 


432  THE  POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

important  literary  institution  can  be  well  gov- 
erned, should  exert  too  controlling  an  influ- 
ence in  the  intellectual  and  moral  discipline 
of  those  youth  who  are  the  hope  of  the 
Church,  and  the  pride  of  their  country.  Even 
in  New  England,  the  barrier  has  been  broken 
over;  and  in  other  States  so  frequently,  that 
there  is  not  a  little  danger  lest  it  be  broken 
down. 

There  are  some  obvious,  and  probably  some 
latent  causes  for  this  state  of  things.  The 
genius  and  spirit  of  our  political  institutions, 
is  exceedingly  sensitive  to  every  thing  in  the 
form  of  clerical  influence;  in  some  respects  it 
is  wisely  so ;  but  it  is  not  impossible  that  this 
apprehension  may  be  carried  to  an  injurious 
excess.  The  civil  disabilities  to  which  the 
Christian  ministry,  of  every  name,  are  sub- 
jected by  the  States  of  New  York  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  more  especially  as  they  afl'ect  the 
influence  of  the  clergy  on  the  great  subject 
of  education,  is  just  the  blow  which  gives  to 
such  a  man  as  Thomas  Jeiferson,  and  other 
enemies  of  Christianity,  their  long-sought  tri- 
umph. Whether  these  States,  on  this  system 
of  educating  their  youth,  will  be  the  gainers  by 
it,  time  will  show.  The  loose  notions  on  the 
subject  of  the  divine  warrant  and  authority  of 
Christian  ministers  to  preach  the  Gospel  and 
dispense   its   ordinances,    exclusive    of  every 


CONSIDERATION   DUE   TO   THE   MINISTRY,        433 

other  class  of  men,  so  heedlessly  assailed  hj 
portions  of  the  daily  press,  and  so  eagerly  re- 
ceived by  many  of  their  readers,  inflict  a  deeper 
womid  than  was  ever  designed  by  their  au- 
thors.    The  system  of  Sabbath  schools,  desir- 
able as  is  its  influence  upon  the  ignorant  and 
untaught,  extended   as  it  is  to  the    children 
of  our  churches,  necessarily  severs  the  rising 
generation  from  that  pastoral  care  of  the  young, 
which   belongs   to   their    ministers.     Nor   are 
ministers  themselves  guiltless  in  this  matter. 
Ever  since   the  spurious  religious  excitement 
Avhich,  a  few  years  since,  burst  upon  so  many 
parts  of  the  land,  the  ministerial  character  has 
been  losing  its  influence.     Christian  men,  and 
intelligent  men  of  the  world,  w ho  were  wont 
to  reverence  the  oflice  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,   could   not  respect  men  who  did  not 
respect  themselves.     There   have   been,  also, 
exciting  questions  before  the  public  mind,  in 
which  ministers,  if  they  have  not  taken  an  un- 
due  interest,   have   manifested    a  zeal  and  a 
recklessness  which  have  had  little  tendency  to 
sustain  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  ministerial 
character.     The  too  prevalent  impression,  that 
candidates  for  the  oflice  are  to  be  sought  for, 
and  found  exclusively  among  the  poorer,  if  not 
the  lower  orders  of  society,  and  the  consequent 
multiplication  of  ministers,  many  of  whom  are 
not  fitted  for  their  office, — the  loungers  abQut 

19 


434  THE  POWER   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

our  large  cities,  of  men  of  too  large  expecta- 
tions, or  too  little  industry  ; — the  numerous 
applications  of  ministers  for  public  charity  in 
every  part  of  the  land,  which  accomplish  little 
more  than  the  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
applicants,  some  of  which  are  undertaken  for 
this  sole  object ; — together  with  the  whole 
system  of  secularizing  the  pulpit,  by  making 
those  who  occupy  it  quite  as  much  the  solici- 
tors for  money  as  they  are  the  preachers  of  the 
Gospel,  are  things  that  are  not  a  little  degrad- 
ing to  the  ministerial  character.  A  strange 
minister  scarcely  comes  among  us,  but  the 
people  at  once  suspect  him  to  be  a  beggar. 
There  are  portions  of  the  land  too,  where  the 
bond  which  unites  pastor  and  people  is  scarcely 
stronger  than  that  which  binds  the  people  to 
their  schoolmaster ;  nor  did  this  evil  originate 
with  the  people,  but  from  the  love  of  change 
in  ministers.  But,  "though  last,  not  least,"  the 
unhallowed  divisions  amoni?  ministers  themselves 
have  exerted  no  small  influence  in  producing 
impressions  unfavorable  to  the  ministerial  char- 
acter. How  can  ministers  hope  for  the  con- 
fidence and  love  of  the  churches,  when  they 
have  so  little  confidence  and  love  toward  one 
another  ?  How  can  the  world,  or  the  Church 
respect  a  divided  and  wrangling  ministry  ? 
Who  shall  speak  well  of  ministers,  if  they 
speah  ill  of  one  another  1    Ah,  it  is  this  devisive 


CONSIDERATION  DUE  TO  THE  MINISTRY,        435 

spirit,  engendering-  so  much  of  rivalry  both  in 
ministers  and  churches,  and  terminating  in  chil- 
ling alienation,  unwarrantable  suspicions,  and 
so  effectually  barring  all  hearty  and  prayerful 
co-operation,  that  has  weakened  our  strength 
in  the  way.  We  have  but  to  survey  large  por- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  compare  the  influence 
of  ministers  with  w  hat  it  w^as  in  former  days,  in 
order  to  be  convinced  that,  from  some,  or  all  of 
these  causes,  the  ministry  are  the  losers. 

Whatever  the  causes  may  be,  the  fact  is  a 
lamentable  one.  By  how  much  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  are  depreciated  in  any  commu- 
nity, by  so  much  is  their  great  end  and  object 
depreciated ;  and  by  so  much  are  that  com- 
munity the  sufferers.  Ministers,  for  the  most 
part,  are  not  obtrusive  men.  They  do  not  seek 
spheres  of  responsibility  and  influence  beyond 
their  own  appropriate  charges.  It  is  well  if 
they  can  be  prevailed  on  to  occupy  such  spheres 
when  solicited.  They  have  enough  to  do  at 
home,  and  they  know  well  how  to  labor  cheer- 
fully and  alone.  There  is  no  class  of  men  who 
more  promptly  obey  the  first  intimations  of 
public  opinion  that  bid  them  toil  in  retirement. 
But  the  inquiry  forces  itself  upon  us.  Is  this 
right  ?  Is  it  the  course  of  true  wisdom,  or 
sound  policy  ?  Does  the  ministerial  office  de- 
serve this  neglect  ?  Is  any  thing  gained  by 
thus  obscuring  its  lustre  ?     Is  it  for  the  ben- 


436  THE   POWER  OF   THE  PULPIT. 

efit  of  mankind  thus  to  cripple  the  power  of 
the  pulpit  ?  Does  not  every  blow  at  this  in- 
stitution of  lieavenly  wisdom,  recoil  with  re- 
doubled force  upon  the  community  ? 

On  a  topic  of  such  practical  concernment,  it 
Avere  well  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  experience. 
What  is  that  voice  in  this  land,  and  in  all  lands 
illumined  by  the  progress  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation  ?  What  is  it  in  Switzerland,  in 
Holland,  in  Eno:land  ?  What  is  it  in  that 
favored  land  where  Scottish  learning  and  phi- 
lanthropy have  so  long  been  measured  by 
the  influence  of  the  pulpit ;  and  where  God's 
ministers,  without  any  of  the  arrogance  of 
the  Papal  priesthood,  have  stood  foremost  in 
every  literary  and  benevolent  enterprise,  and 
in  maintaining  the  dignity  and  influence  of 
their  ofiice,  have  only  yielded  to  the  wishes  of 
the  people  ?  What  was  it  in  New  England, 
for  almost  two  centuries  ?  Who  founded  her 
colleges  ?  The  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Who 
originated  her  Missionary,  Bible,  Tract,  Tem- 
perance, and  Education  Societies  ?  The  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel.  Who  made  the  little 
State  of  New  Jersey  what  it  is ;  gave  it  her 
literature,  and  sanctified  her  bar,  and  identified 
her  religion  and  learning  ?  Who  but  the  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel ! 

This  growing  severance  in  the  land  of  the 
best  interests  of  the  community  from  the  pul- 


CONSIDERATION   DUE  TO  THE   MINISTRY.        437 

pit,  is  an  unnatural  severance ;  it  is  putting 
asunder  what  God  has  joined  together.  It 
can  hardly  be  supposed  that  a  class  of  men, 
appointed  to  be  the  teachers  of  mankind  on 
the  all-important  subject  of  religion,  should 
occupy  a  sphere  that  is  purely  religious ;  be- 
cause, unless  interdicted  by  public  opinion,  it  is 
impossible,  in  tlie  nature  of  the  case,  that  their 
influence  should  not  extend  beyond  it.  If  the 
pulpit  exerts  a  salutary  influence,  public  opin- 
ion ought  to  be  in  its  favor.  Bad  men  can 
hardly  be  supposed  to  be  its  patrons ;  but  it  is 
passing  strange  that  there  should  be  good  men 
who  so  thoughtlessly  unite  in  this  popular 
crUvSade  against  the  ministers  of  Christ.  We 
say  in  all  honesty  and  frankness  to  such  men, 
that  the  pulpit  needs  their  favor,  in  order  to 
accomplish,  in  the  best  manner,  the  objects 
which  are  as  dear  to  them  as  to  Christ's  min- 
isters. 

In  every  age  of  the  world,  those  persons 
have  been  the  enemies  of  true  religion,  and 
of  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  who  have 
been  the  opposers  of  Christ's  ministers.  A 
wicked  ministry  deserves  no  favor;  a  devout 
and  devoted  one  has  claims  upon  esteem  and 
confidence  that  cannot  wisely  be  disregarded. 
Sir  Matthew  Hale,  who  is  pronounced  by  Lord 
EUenborough  to  have  been  "  one  of  the  great- 
est Judges  that  ever  sat  in  Westminster  Hall," 


438  THE   POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

in  a  letter  to  his  children,  among  other  excel- 
lent counsels,  gives  them  the  following  advice 
in  rcijard  to  their  treatment  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel.  "  Reverence  your  minister;  he 
is  a  wise  and  good  man,  and  one  that  loves 
you,  and  hath  a  tender  care  and  respect  for 
you.  Do  not  grieve  him,  either  hy  neglect  or 
disrespect.  Assure  yourselves,  if  there  be  any 
person  that  sets  any  of  you  against  him,  or  pro- 
vokes, or  encourages  any  of  you  to  despise, 
or  neglect  him,  that  person,  whoever  he  be, 
loves  not  you,  nor  the  office  he  bears.  As  the 
Divine  Providence  hath  placed  him  to  hare  a 
care  of  your  souls  ;  so  I  must  tell  you,  I  do 
expect  you  should  reverence  and  honor  him 
for  his  own,  and  for  your,  and  for  his  office' 
sake."  A  statesman  and  jurist,  second  to 
none  in  this  land,  in  his  argument  before  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
ease  of  Stephen  Girard's  Will,  expresses  the 
following  thoughts : — "  I  take  it  upon  myself 
to  say,  that  in  no  country  in  the  world,  upon 
either  continent,  can  there  be  found  a  body  of 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  who  perform  so  much 
service  to  man,  in  such  a  full  spirit  of  self- 
denial,  under  so  little  encouragement  from  Gov- 
ernment of  any  kind,  and  under  circumstances, 
always  much  straitened  and  often  distressed, 
as  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  United 
States,  of  all  denominations !     They  form  no 


CONSIDERATION   DUE  TO  THE  MINISTRY.        439 

part  of  any  established,  order  of  religion ;  they 
constitute  no  hierarchy ;  they  enjoy  no  pecul- 
iar privileges — in  some  of  the  States  they  are 
even  shut  out  from  all  participation  in  the  po- 
litical rights  and  privileges  enjoyed  by  their 
fellow-citizens;  they  enjoy  no  tithes, — no  pub- 
lic provision  of  any  kind.  And  this  body  of 
clergymen  has  shown,  to  the  honor  of  their 
own  country,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
hierarchies  of  the  old  world,  that  it  is  practi- 
cable in  free  governments  to  raise  and  sustain 
a  body  of  clergymen, — which  for  devotedness 
to  their  sacred  calling,  for  purity  of  life  and 
character,  for  learning,  intelligence,  piety,  and 
that  wisdom  which  cometh  from  above,  is  in- 
ferior to  none,  and  superior  to  most  others.  I 
hope  that  our  learned  men  have  done  some- 
thing for  the  honor  of  our  literature  abroad. 
I  hope  that  the  courts  of  justice  and  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  of  this  countrv  have  done 
something  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law ;  I  hope  that  the  discussions 
in  Congress  have  done  something  to  meliorate 
the  condition  of  the  human  race,  to  secure  and 
extend  the  great  charter  of  human  rights,  and 
to  strengthen  and  advance  the  great  principles 
of  human  liberty.  But  I  contend  that  no  liter- 
ary efforts,  no  adjudications,  no  constitutional 
discussions,  nothing  that  has  been  done  or  said 
in  favor  of  the  great  interests  of  universal  man, 


440  THE   POWER  OP  THE   PULPIT. 

has  done  this  country  more  credit  at  home  and 
abroad,  than  the  estal>iishment  of  our  body  of 
clergymen,  and  the  general  excellence  of  their 
character,  their  piety,  and  learning." 

Moses,  the  great  Hebrew  Legislator,  and 
the  divinely  appointed  leader  of  God's  ancient 
Israel,  in  blessing  that  people  just  before  he 
went  up  to  the  top  of  Nebo,  to  "  die  there  in 
the  mount,"  pronounced  the  following  bene- 
diction upon  the  house  of  Levi. — "  And  of  Levi 
he  said.  Let  thy  Urim  and  thy  Thummim  be 
with  thy  holy  one !  for  they  have  observed 
thy  word  and  kept  thy  covenant.  They  shall 
teach  Jacob  thy  judgments  and  Israel  thy 
law ;  they  shall  put  incense  before  thee,  and 
whole  burnt  offering  upon  thine  altar.  Bless, 
Lord,  his  substance,  and  accept  the  work  of  his 
hands  !  Smite  through  the  loins  of  them  that 
rise  against  him  and  of  them  that  hate  him,  that 
they  rise  not  again  V  How  many  have  felt 
the  withering  influence  of  this  early  impreca- 
tion! 

When  the  Saviour  sent  forth  the  early 
preachers  of  his  Gospel,  he  appended  to  their 
commission  this  protecting  clause :  "  He  that 
heareth  you,  heareth  me;  he  that  receivetli 
you,  receivetli  me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you, 
despiseth  me." 

The  Apostle  Paul,  notwithstanding  all  his 
characteristic  delicacy,  could  not  suppress  the 


CONSIDERATION   DUE   TO   THE   MINISTRY.        441 

injunction,  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule 
over  you;  for  they  watch  for  your  souls  as 
they  that  must  give  account,  that  they  may  do 
it  with  joy  and  not  with  grief;  for  that  is  iin- 
lirofitoMe  for  you  /"  He  repeats  the  injunc- 
tion in  his  counsels  to  Timothy,  when  he  says, 
"  Let  the  Presbyters  that  rule  well  be  ac- 
counted worthy  of  double  honor;  csj3ecially 
those  who  labor  in  w^ord  and  doctrine  !" 

It  is  of  but  little  consequence  to  the  writer, 
whether  these  suggestions  be  heeded,  or  un- 
heeded. The  time  is  short  during  which 
they  may  affect  him.  These  lips  will  soon  be 
silent;  dust  will  be  upon  them.  ''To-day," 
says  the  Oriental  proverb,  "  we  visit  the  tombs 
of  our  friends ;  to-morrow,  they  visit  ours." 
Compared  with  the  past,  his  days  of  labor 
must  be  few,  his  steps  faltering  and  slow,  his 
pilgrimage  confined  within  narrow  bounds. 
But  the  sacred  ministrv  will  live  when  he  dies  : 
and  it  is  his  earnest  desire  and  prayer  that  it 
may  be  a  useful  and  honored  ministry.  The 
fruit  is  ripening  which  will  afford  a  rich  har- 
vest ;  happy  and  honored  be  the  men  whose 
privilege  it  shall  be  to  gather  and  garner  it ! 
The  ministry  of  reconciliation  was  instituted 
for  the  purpose  of  exerting  an  important 
agency  in  the  work  of  man's  salvation ;  we 
ask  for  it  only  that  consideration  which  its 
importance  demands. 

19* 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE    RESPONSIBILITY    OF    ENJOYING    THE    CHRISTIAN 

MINISTRY. 

It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  debt  of  grati- 
tude Avliicli  those  portions  of  tlie  earth  owe  to 
the  distinguishing  goodness  of  God,  who  enjoy 
the  stated  ministrations  of  his  word.  The 
Christian  ministry  is  among  the  selectest  bless- 
ings which  can  be  enjoyed  by  men ;  one  of  the 
most  important  elements  of  individual,  social, 
and  national  prosperity.  It  is  the  institution 
which,  above  all  others,  makes  Christian  lands 
what  they  are,  girds  them  with  a  zone  of  light, 
and  sheds  upon  them  the  balmy  influences  of 
heavenly  mercy. 

"  What  nation,"  said  Moses  to  ancient  Israel, 
"  is  there  so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and  judg- 
ments so  rigliteous,  as  all  this  law  which  I  set 
before  you  this  day  ?"  This  was  the  pre-emi- 
nence of  the  Hebrew  state  ;  they  were  a  bet- 
ter instructed  and  better  governed  people,  a 
liolier  and  happier  people,  than  any  of  the  sur- 
rounding nations.     The  God  of  Abraham  was 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   HEARERS.  443 

a  "  glory  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  a  wall  of 
fire  round  about  them."  There  he  set  his 
*'  tabernacle  for  a  shadow  in  the  daytime  from 
the  heat,  and  for  a  place  of  refuge,  and  for  a 
covert  from  storm  and  from  rain."  Speaking 
of  the  restoration  of  that  backsliding  and  chas- 
tised people,  after  days  of  darkness  and  rebuke, 
God  himself  says  to  them,  "  Turn,  O  backslid- 
ing Israel,  for  I  am  married  unto  you;  and  I 
will  take  you  one  of  a  city  and  two  of  a  family, 
and  I  Avill  bring  you  unto  Zion.  And  I  will 
give  you" — what  is  the  gift  that  this  greatest 
of  all  givers  will  give  to  his  restored  and  re- 
espoused  people  ? — "  I  will  give  you  Pastors 
according  to  mine  heart,  which  shall  feed  you 
with  knowledge  and  understanding."  The 
Psalmist,  in  speaking  of  them,  says,  "  Blessed 
are  the  people  who  know  the  joyful  sound ;  they 
shall  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the  light  of  thy  counte- 
nance." If  this  pre-eminence  was  enjoyed  by 
the  Jewish  people,  under  a  comparatively  dark 
and  shadowy  dispensation,  with  how  much 
stronger  propriety  does  it  belong  to  Christian 
lands,  enjoying,  as  they  do,  so  much  clearer 
light,  and  that  "  better  covenant,  founded  upon 
better  promises  ?" 

This  is  not  a  subject  on  which  the  Scriptures 
speak  in  doubtful  or  unemphatic  language. 
They  tell  us  of  the  gifts  of  God  to  men;  above 
all  others  do  they  magnify  his  "  unspeakable 


444  THE   POWER  OF   TILE   PULPIT. 

c:ift,"  the  gift  ol'liis  only  and  Avcll-belovcd  Son. 
They  speak  too  of  gifts  which  his  Son  bestows, 
as  the  rewarded  and  rewarding  Mediator  ;  gifts 
w^hic'h  he  purchased  by  hisdeatli,  and  of  which 
he  is  the  honored  dispenser.  When  lie  as- 
cended up  on  high,  "  he  gave  gifts  to  men," 
w^orthy  of  his  royal  bounty,  and  such  as  he  him- 
self selected  as  the  most  fittini?  and  striking- 
expressions  of  his  munificence  on  liis  first  ac- 
cession to  his  mediatorial  throne.  "  He  gave 
— some.  Apostles;  and  some.  Prophets;  and 
some,  Evangelists;  and  some  pastors  and  teach- 
ers; for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry." 

These  are  the  gifts  he  bestows  on  us.  The 
"  lines  have  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant  places,  and 
we  have  a  goodly  heritage."  We  may  glory 
in  the  vastness  of  our  territory,  and  in  the  rapid 
growth  of  an  enterprising  population ;  we  may 
survey  with  high  and  honest  exultation  the 
blessings  of  that  civil  and  religious  liberty 
which  w^e  have  received  from  our  lathers;  but, 
if  we  are  not  recreant  to  the  trust  committed 
to  us,  and  feel  as  they  felt,  we  shall  prize  the 
Christian  ministry.  Amid  all  the  beautiful  and 
varied  scenery  which  delights  our  eye  as  we 
look  over  this  broad  land,  w^e  shall  not  over- 
look her  ten  thousand  churches  ;  and  amid  all 
our  delighted  exultation,  we  shall  remember 
that  it  is  WTitten,   "How  beautiful  upon  the 


RESPONSIBILITY  OP   HEARERS.  445 

mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  that  piiblisheth  peace;  that  bring- 
eth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  saith  unto  Zion, 
Thy  God  reigneth !" 

Privilege  and  obligation  are  but  correlative 
terms.  The  greater  the  privilege,  the  greater 
the  duty,  and  the  greater  the  sin  of  leaving  it 
unperformed.  We  ask  more  for  the  pulpit, 
thanthat  it  be  provided  with  a  pious  and  well- 
educated  ministry  ; — and  we  ask  more  for  the 
ministry,  than  that  it  should  receive  an  ad- 
equate pecuniary  support,  and  be  respected, 
and  encouraged.  We  claim  for  it  a  practical 
regard  of  the  truths  it  inculcates,  and  the  du- 
ties it  enforces.  We  ask  for  it  that  character, 
those  hopes,  and  those  efforts  which  it  was  in- 
stituted to  attain  and  advance. 

The  first  great  duty  which  the  pulpit  urges, 
is  "  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  It  holds  up  the  simpli- 
city of  the  method  of  salvation  by  a  crucified 
Redeemer;— the  simplicity  of  a  spiritual  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ,  in  opposition  to  that  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  ; — the 
simplicity  ot  Christian  worship,  in  opposition  to 
the  tedious  and  complicated  observances  of  all 
false  religions.  The  just  expression  and  proof 
of  its  power  is  found,  when  those  who  enjoy 
its  dispensations  cordially  receive  this  system 
of  truth  and  grace,  and  confide  in  that  Saviour 


446  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

tlirougli  Avliom  llicy  nre  delivered  from  the 
curse  of  ilie  law ;  wliose  blood  answers  every 
cliarGfc,  covers  every  siii,  enforces  every  plea, 
and  itself  pleads  with  irresistible  power.  Here' 
lies  the  first  and  great  responsibility  of  those 
who  are  favored  with  the  Cliristian  ministry. 
Men  do  not  truly  meet  any  one  of  its  claims 
until  this  duty  is  performed.  Their  obedience 
to  the  Divine  authority  bcirins  here;  it  is* vain 
for  them  to  think  of  any  thing  like  conformity 
to  his  will,  so  long  as  they  reject  him  whom 
God  has  sent,  and  refuse  his  instructions  who 
comes  to  them  with  so  many  attestations  of  his 
divine  mission.  We  call  upon  men,  therefore, 
everywhere,  ta  renounce  their  pretensions  to 
self-righteousness, — to  feel  their  sin  and  con- 
demnation,— to  be  sensible  of  their  inability  to 
save  themselves, — to  be  conscious  that  they 
have  no  claims,  no  merit,  and  to  throw  them 
selves  upon  him  v>dio  is  the  Author  and  Finisher 
of  this  great  salvation.  We  call  upon  them  to 
feel  that  for  any  good  purpose  they  have  noth- 
ing, and  need  all  things ; — to  bow  at  his  footstool, 
who  is  so  holy  that  the  heavens  are  not  clean 
in  his  sight ;  and  there  where  archangels  bow, 
and  devils  tremble,  to  smite  upon  their  breasts, 
and  say,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !" 

Whence  is  it  that  men  listen  to  the  message 
brought  to  them  by  the  Christian  ministry, 
with  not  half  the  interest  and  eagerness  with 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   HEARERS.  447 

which  they  hsten  to  a  lecture  on  themes  of 
mere  secular  interest  ?  A  lecture  on  astron- 
omy, or  history,  or  some  important  department 
in  the  arts ; — a  mere  play  at  the  theatre,  or 
song  at  the  opera,  or  a  paragraph  from  the 
press,  telling  of  battles  lost  or  won,  and  trea- 
ties ratified  or  rejected,  holds  them  in  silent 
thought  and  admiration.  But  the  lessons  of 
God's  redeeming  love  ;  the  song  that  was  first 
rehearsed  by  angels  on  the  plains  of  Bethlehem; 
the  treaty  of  peace  between  heaven  and  earth, 
signed  with  the  name  of  the  ever-blessed  and 
adorable  Trinity,  and  sealed  with  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb, — ^whose  eye  sparkles,  whose  bo- 
som glows  at  messages  like  these ;  and  where 
are  the  voices  that  repeat  these  glad  tidings  ? 
Bold  operations  in  business  interest  them ; — 
the  aged  gather  up  their  wandering  and  rouse 
their  torpid  thoughts,  and  the  young  take  fire 
at  the  doubtful  enterprise  ; — but  tell  them  of 
durable  riches  and  righteousness,  of  heavenly 
gems  and  diadems  brighter  than  Gabriel  wears, 
and  they  make  light  of  it ;  it  is  tame — to  lis- 
ten to  it  is  a  task. 

What  miserable, — what  guilty  delusion  is 
this !  I  look  around  me,  and  see  men  fol- 
lowing their  different  secular  pursuits  with  all 
the  ardor  and  zeal  they  are  capable  of  exer- 
cising. Difficulty  and  dangers  do  not  discour- 
age them,  but  rather  give  energy  to  their  ef- 


448  THE   POWF-R   OF   THE   PULPIT. 

forts;  they  are  not  pliaiitoms  and  trifles  that 
they  are  pursiiinir,  but  realities.     But  there  is 
one  thing  about  tiieni  all  which  they  have  for- 
gotten, and   that  is,   their  uncertainty.     They 
"  know   not  what  shall   be   on   the  morrow." 
They  are  eagerly  grasping  the  "  greatest,  the 
most  sli])pery  uncertainties''    This  is  a  remark- 
able fact  in  the  history  of  man.     There  is  but 
one  certain  event  in  all  his  future  course.     Be 
he   high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  learned   or  un- 
learned, happy  or  miserable,  young  or  old,  the 
friend  of  God,  or  his  enemy ;  there  is  not  one 
among  all  the  millions  of  our  race,  who  can, 
with   certainty,  anticipate   any  other  event  in 
his  future  history,  save  the  single  one,  that  he 
must  die.     But  shut  out  this  message  of  God's 
redeeming  mercy,  and  what  a  fearful  certainty 
is   death  !     Perad venture    his    course   may  be 
serene  and  cheerful  up  to  that  turn  of  sadness; 
but   there   darkness  overshadows  him — terror 
agitates   him — deep    and  heavy    clouds   settle 
over  the  gates  of  death.     All  beyond, — what 
is  it  ?     Yet  is  there  a  "  clcarino:"  even  through 
this   dark  valley ;    a   bright   opening ;    a  vista 
of  the  heavenly  world.     O  there  is  everything 
in  death  to  make  us  dread  its  approach,  apart 
from   those   principles  and   hopes,   which  rise 
like  the  star  of  promise  on  the  soul. 

"  Go  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   HEARERS.  449 

of  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  Ancient  of  Days, 
the  Son  of  man,  the  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace 
in  all  their  undivided  love  authorize  this  mis- 
sion, and  stand  pledged  to  confirm  the  message 
which  it  bears.  The  words  of  men  may  be  _ 
counsels  of  wisdom; — the  words  of  God  have 
the  force  of  law.  The  words  of  men  are  of 
doubtful  verity  ; — the  words  of  God  are  truth. 
The  words  of  men  may  be  unaccomplished 
words ; — God's  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he 
will  do  all  his  pleasure.  The  heavens  and  the 
earth  shall  pass  away,  but  his  words  shall  never 
pass  away.  Wonderful  as  these  truths  are, 
gracious  as  they  are,  and  tremendously  fearful 
as  they  are,  they  are  as  unchangeable  as  the 
Deity ;  they  are  settled  in  heaven,  and  estab- 
lished forever.  There  is  all  the  sincerity 
about  them  which  belono^s  to  the  essence  of 
truth  and  goodness  ;  all  the  authority  belongs 
to  them  which  belongs  to  Infinite  rectitude 
and  Omnipotent  justice.  They  are  fixed  and 
permanent  as  his  throne  ;  they  will  never  be 
retracted,  never  altered ;  nor  are  they  re- 
vealed in  such  a  way  as  to  stifle  our  hopes,  or 
excite  one  needless  fear.  There  is  nothing 
wavering,  nothing  uncertain  in  relation  to  any 
one  feature  of  this  Gospel ;  come  what  will, 
it  will  stand  in  all  its  forms  and  colors,  in 
all  its  promises,  and  in  all  its  threatenings. 
Whether   men  receive,  or  reject   it,  it  shall 


450  THE  POWER  OF  THE   PULPIT. 

pursue  its  steady  course,  impelled  by  an  un- 
seen, but  Omni})otent  hand,  and  bring  ever- 
lasting glory  to  its  Divine  Author. 

How  constraining  the  motive,  then,  to  listen 
and  obev  when  God  thus  addresses  us !  How 
solemn  the  admonition,  "  See  that  ye  refuse  not 
him  that  speakcth  ;  for  if  they  escaped  not  who 
refused  him  that  spake  on  earth  ;  how  much 
more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  refuse  him  that 
speaketh  from  heaven  !"  There  was  binding 
authority  in  the  message  of  the  ancient  dispen- 
sation ;  God  w  as  its  Author.  Yet  was  it  prepar- 
atory only  to  the  one  that  "  cannot  be  moved." 
God  "  who  at  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  man- 
ners spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets, 
hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his 
Son."  Were  an  angel  from  heaven  to  visit 
our  world,  we  should  croAvd  around  him,  and 
should  be  anxious  to  know  the  errand  on 
Avhich  he  came.  Angels  have  descended  in 
times  far  gone  by,  and  men  listened  to  their 
errand  with  astonishment.  But  their  message 
was  a  very  subordinate  one  to  that  brought  by 
the  Son  of  God.  "  For  if  the  word  spoken  by 
angels  was  steadfast,  and  every  transgression 
and  disobedience  received  a  just  recompense 
of  reward,  how  shall  they  escape  who  neglect 
so  great  salvation,  which  at  the  first  began  to 
be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto 
us  by  them  that  heard  him."    We  have  the  same 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF   HEARERS.  451 

testimony.  Men  disregarded  the  voice  of  God's 
prophets;  they  stoned  some,  killed  some  ;  "yet 
having  one  Son,  he  sent  him,  saying.  They  will 
reverence  my  Son  !"  It  is  the  Saviour's  voice 
by  vsiiom  this  message  is  uttered.  He  bows  his 
heavens  and  comes  down.  He  walks  amidst 
the  golden  candlesticks.  When  his  ministers 
speak  in  his  name,  he  is  with  them  -,  when  his 
people  meet  together,  he  is  there.  He  will  be 
sanctified  in  them  that  come  nigh  him,  and  be- 
fore all  the  people  will  he  be  glorified. 

It  is  a  solemn  thought,  too,  that  to  those  who 
reject  this  divine  message,  it  is  as  though  no 
real  message  had  been  revealed.  We  have  spoken 
of  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  of  the  constituent 
elements  of  that  power,  and  of  the  correla- 
tive obligations  of  its  ministry ;  but  what  is  all 
this  to  the  man  who  disregards  the  message 
it  brings  ?  It  is  as  though  the  pulpit  had  no 
power ;  nay,  it  is  as  though  there  were  not  a 
Christian  pulpit  in  the  world.  It  is  as  though 
there  were  no  Sanctuary,  no  Sabbath,  and  no 
Gospel  and  all  the  light  of  these  precious 
hopes  were  blotted  out  in  the  darkness  of  Pa- 
ganism, and  in  the  gloom  of  the  grave.  Shall 
it  be  thus  ?  Shall  the  voice  of  nature  demand 
these  instructions,  and  shall  that  affecting  cry 
for  help  be  suppressed  ?  Shall  the  pulpit  win 
its  ten  thousand  triumphs,  through  darkness, 
through  trial,   through   enemies,  through   the 


452  THE  POWER  OF  THE  PULPIT. 

fasfiTot  and  the  gibbet ;  and  shall  there  be 
obduracy,  more  powerful  than  they  all,  that 
leaves  the  dwellers  in  Christian  lands  bound  in 
chains  to  the  ignominious  car  of  sin  and  death  ? 
We  have  spoken  of  what  the  pulpit  has  done. 
Time  would  tail  to  tell  of  the  millions  whom 
it  has  made  holy  and  liappy.  They  have  lived 
in  peace,  and  when  death  came,  have  lifted 
their  eyes  to  the  eternal  hills  whence  cometh 
their  help.  Over  a  world  strewed  with  the 
ruins  of  a  thousand  generations,  this  message 
of  heavenly  mercy  has  passed  with  a  life-giving 
power,  quickening  them  who  were  dead  in 
sin,  and  raising  them  Up  to  sit  together  in  hea- 
venly places  in  Christ  Jesus. 

O  the  blessedness  of  this  sweet  hope  in 
Christ !  Just  conceive  of  a  man  in  the  state  of 
William  Howard,  so  distressed  bv  a  view  of  his 
sins  and  danger,  that  he  says,  "  So  great  was 
the  anguish  of  my  soul,  that  I  lamented  God 
had  spared  Noah  and  his  family.  O  that  they 
had  been  swept  away  by  the  Deluge  ;  then 
I  had  never  been  !"  And  after  he  had  become 
reconciled  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  speak- 
ing of  his  joy,  he  says,  "  My  tongue,  or  pen 
can  faintly  describe  it.  All  the  bliss  that  I  had 
ever  enjoyed,  was  no  more  like  it  than  mid- 
night darkness  is  like  the  meridian  sun.  It 
was  heaven  indeed ;  something  of  the  real 
nature  of  heaven   I  then  enjoyed.     My  soul 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF   HEARERS.  453 

was  wrapt  in  the  embraces  of  the  adorable 
Jesus,  and  I  was  so  overpowered  with  holy 
love  that  I  was  lost  to  every  thing  else."  It 
is  related  of  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  that 
she  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  through  the  instrumental- 
ity of  the  single  remark  of  the  Lady  Margaret 
Hastings,  that  "  since  she  had  known  and 
believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  she  had 
been  as  hapj^y  as  an  angel'''  When  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  beams  on  the  soul,  sometimes 
rising  like  the  faint  light  of  the  morning,  and 
sometimes  bursting  upon  the  benighted  mind 
in  meridian  splendor,  joys  visit  it  that  are  al- 
ternately serene  and  rapturous,  now  tranquil, 
and  now  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

The  brightest  earthly  career  has  its  trials, 
and  they  are  trials  which  find  no  relief  and  no 
alleviation  but  from  the  Divine  presence  and 
favor.  Here  alone  is  the  febrifuge  for  the  burn- 
ing heart ;  the  pillow  for  the  aching  head. 

"  How  soft  to  lean  on  Heaven  ! 
To  lean  on  Him  on  wliom  archangels  lean." 

This  world  forsakes  us  on  the  approach  of 
the  winter's  storm ;  before  the  chill  blasts  of 
adversity  it  retires.  Not  so  the  religion  of  the 
Gospel.  Misery  in  all  its  forms  has  peculiar  at- 
tractions for  this  message  of  heavenly  mercy. 
The  spirit  of  the  world  and  the    spirit  which 


454  THE   POWER  OP  THE  PULPIT. 

is  of  God  often  meet  at  the  door  of  human 
wretchedness  ;  but  tlie  former  leaves  it  because 
tlie  sources  of  its  joy  are  dried  up ;  the  latter 
enters  because  there  are  sources  of  bitterness, 
and  tears  to  be  wiped  away.  Such  love  and 
pity  are  found  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 
only  there,  for  misery  and  poverty  like  ours. 
Not  until  this  celestial  messenger  is  made  wel- 
come, can  men  be  holy,  or  happy.  The  voice 
of  reason,  the  voice  of  conscience,  the  voice  of 
God,  every  cross  and  disappointment,  and  trial 
repeats  the  call,  "  My  son,  give  me  thy  heart !" 
And  O  that,  from  that  insatiable  thirst  for 
happiness  so  deeply  implanted  in  the  soul  of 
man,  every  one  of  my  readers  may  respond. 
My  heart,  blessed  Lord,  Avill  I  give  ! 

But  there  is  another  alternative.  "  He  that 
is  not  with  me,"  says  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  is 
against  me."  Those  ivho  reject  this  message  of 
the  Christian  ministry,  do  so  on  their  own  resjjon- 
sibility,  and  at  their  own  'peril.  "  If  thou  be 
wise,  thou  shalt  be  wise  for  thyself;  but  if 
thou  scornest,  thou  alone  shalt  bear  it."  Men 
who  have  been  distinguished  for  the  success 
which  crowned  their  labors,  have  also  been 
distinguished  for  making  hard  hearts  harder, 
and  blind  eyes  blinder.  There  is  a  reason  for 
this  in  the  nature  of  their  message;  for  ihe 
very  truths  which  are  most  fitted  to  interest 
and  impress,  when  long  and  perseveringly  re- 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   HEARERS.  455 

jected,  only  leave  the  mind  more  obdurate. 
This  is  the  way  men  become  ripe  for  destruc- 
tion ;  it  is  in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  mercy, 
where  they  wander  as  in  a  desert  and  parched 
land,  and  whence  they  go  at  last,  where  there 
is  not  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  their  tongue. 
This  is  the  direful  catastrophe.  This  will  he 
the  end  of  disregarding  and  rejecting  the  message 
of  the  Christian  ministry.  As  God  liveth,  this 
will  be  the  mournful  end  of  rejecting  these 
messages  of  heavenly  mercy.  It  is  no  common 
responsibility  that  such  men  incur.  If  the 
smallest  talent  must  be  accounted  for,  what 
account  must  they  render  who  all  their  life- 
time have  been  favored  with  a  preached  Gos- 
pel, and  who  have  only  heard  and  rejected  this 
gracious  message  ?  How  bitter  the  reflections 
of  such  a  man,  as  he  sees  the  last  hours  of 
human  life  passing  away,  and  the  lamentation 
is  extorted  from  his  bosom,  "  The  harvest  is 
past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  I  am  not  saved !" 
What  a  fearful  transition  will  that  be  from  the 
Christian  sanctuary  to  the  bar  of  God !  There 
will  be  mourning  then,  when  "many  shall  come 
from  the  east  and  from  the  west,  and  from  the 
north  and  from  the  south,  and  sit  down  with 
Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  they  themselves  are  cast  out." 
Ah,  they  know  not  what  they  do,  to  whom 
God  has  given  a  faithful  ministry,  and  who  re- 


456  THE   POWER  OF   THE   PULPIT. 

ject  the  great  salvation.  They  are  not  the 
atheist,  and  the  infidel,  and  the  immoral  only 
who  perish.  Large  and  free  as  it  is,  the  love 
of  God  is  no  refuge  even  for  the  moral  and  the 
orthodox,  who  treat  the  message  of  his  minis- 
ters as  they  treat  their  Master,  and  tread  it 
under  their  feet.  It  is  the  last  message.  In- 
finite love  makes  its  greatest  effort  here.  It 
cannot  do  more.  "  There  remaineth  no  more 
.sacrifice  for  sin." 

When  the  rich  man  in  the  parable  lifted  up 
his  eyes  in  hell,  and  saw  Abraham  afar  off, 
and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom,  he  cried  and  said, 
"  Father  Abraham  have  mercy  on  me,  and 
send  Lazarus,  that  he  may  dip  tlie  tip  of  his 
finger  in  water,  and  cool  my  tongue ;  for  I  am 
tormented  in  this  flame  !"  The  time  will  come 
when  the  despisers  of  our  message  will  cry  for 
mercy,  whether  they  ever  did  before  or  not. 
They  will  cry  long  and  loud ;  they  will  lift  up 
their  voice  in  awful  distress;  but  there  shall 
be  none  to  answer.  Nor  will  it  be  long  before 
that  day  of  calamity  shall  come.  It  may  be 
forty  years;  it  may  be  twenty;  it  may  be  ten; 
it  may  be  five ;  it  may  be  two ;  it  may  not  be 
one.  Eternity  is  nearer  than  they  think  of, 
and  that  place  of  torment  is  as  near  as  eter- 
nity. We  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth.  Yesterday  is  fled  upon  the  eagle  wings 
of  time ;  to-morrow  belongs  to  God  and  not  to 


RESPONSIBILITY  OP   HEARERS.  457 

man.  These  golden  Sabbaths  will  soon  have 
passed  away,  and  the  voice  of  the  living  min- 
istry will  soon  be  silent  among  the  silent  dead. 
Could  those  who  die  in  their  sins  come  back 
again  and  live,  its  message  would  not  be  so 
urgent.  But  they  come  not.  You  call,  and 
they  answer  not  again.  You  look  for  them  in 
the  visions  of  the  night ;  but  it  is  all  a  dream. 
They  appear  not  to  mortal  eyes ;  they  .speak 
not  to  mortal  ears.  They  are  not  in  heaven, 
but  are  shut  up  in  hell.  Would  that  the  man 
who  rejects  the  salvation  of  God  could  be 
transported  to  eternity  for  an  hour,  if  it  were 
but  to  witness  the  agony  of  those  who  once 
occupied  a  place  in  God's  sanctuary,  and 
whom  nothing  could  induce  to  fall  in  with  the 
redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  !  O  dread- 
ful doom !  not  to  be  described  by  mortal 
tongue ;  yet  to  be  endured  by  every  mortal 
man  that  refuses  this  offered  mercy ! 

If  the  writer  dwells  a  moment  longer  on 
thoughts  like  these,  it  is  because  they  are 
afiecting  thoughts  to  his  own  mind,  as  a 
preacher  of  the  everlasting  Gospel.  The 
Christian  ministry  is  God's  selected  instru- 
mentality in  accomplishing  his  purposes  of 
grace.  It  is  set  for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel, 
and  for  the  vindication  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment over  this  fallen  world.  Eternity  alone 
can   disclose   the   responsibility  of  preaching 


458  TIIF,    POWRR   OF    TUP,    PUI.PIT. 

this  Gospel ;    eternity  alone   can  disclose  the 
responsibility  of  rejecting  it.     Think  of  a  man 
sitting   for  ten,  or  twenty,  or   forty,  or  sixty 
years   under  the    varied   influences  of  an  in- 
structive pulpit.     What  a  vast  amount  of  truth 
lias  he  listened  to !     How  much  toil  and  insre- 
nuity  have  been  expended  in  order  to  frame 
arguments    to  convince  his  understanding,  to 
construct   appeals  that  should  rouse  his  con- 
science, to  furnish  illustrations  that  miffht  in- 
terest  him,  and  to  urge  motives   that   might 
persuade  him  to  become  reconciled  to  God ! 
How  often  has  he  trembled  at  the  rebuke,  and 
wept    under   the    affecting    persuasions    that 
would  fain  have  constrained  him  to  become 
a  Christian  !     Who  can  measure  the  responsi- 
bility of  such  a  man,  even   thougli  he    may 
have    listened  to   the    meanest   pulpit  in  the 
land !      That  pulpit,   what  will  be    the    testi- 
mony, and  what  his  recollections  of  that  pul- 
pit, w  hen  the  Saviour  there  made  known  shall 
judge   the    world  in  righteousness!     What  a 
stream  of  light  has  poured  from  it  upon  many 
a  benighted  mind,  which,  if  it  had   enlight- 
ened Sodom  and  Tyre,  they  would  have  re- 
pented long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes ! 

Men  who  enjoy  a  faithful  Christian  ministry 
know  too  much  of  God  and  his  Christ,  to  con- 
sent to  go  away  into  everlasting  burnings. 
Better  for  them  to  have  died  from  the  womb. 


RESPONSIRILTTY   OF    MRARERS.  459 

or  as  an  hidden,  untimely  birth  that  had  not 
been,  as  infants  which  never  saw  the  light, 
tlian  to  have  been  dwellers  in  this  world  of 
mercy,  and  at  last  make  their  bed  in  that  lake 
of  iire. 

Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  wonder  and  per- 
ish !  Adore,  ye  lovers  of  God  and  the  Gospel 
of  his  Son,  that  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching- 
he  is  pleased  to  save  them  that  believe  ! 


THE    END. 


VALUABLE    BOOKS, 

PUBLISHED   AND    FOR    SALE    BY 

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BRICK  CHURCH  CHAPEL, 

PKONTIKG    ON    145    NASSAU    ST.  AND   36    PARK   ROW, 

NEW  YORK 


CHARLOTTE    ELIZABETH'S     WORKS. 

Umlbrni  Edition,  13  vols.  12mo.  $G  50. 

CHARLOTTE   ELIZABETH'S  JUVENILE  WORKS. 

i(Not  included  in  the  above  13  vols.)  8  vols.     l8mo.    S3  00. 

We  have  received   numerous   commendatory  notices  of 

Our  edition  of  Charlotte  Elizabeth's  Works,  from  the  religious 

papers  of  all  denominations  of  Christians-  in  this  country, 

and  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  not  supplied  themselves 

with  her  books,  we  insert  here  a  few  which  are  believed  to 

he  a  fair  specimen  of  the  opinions  of  the  secular  press. 

"  Mrs.  Charlotte  Elizabeth  Tonna  is  one  of  the  most  gifted,  popular, 
tnd  truly  instructive  writers  of  the  present  day.  In  clearness  of  thought, 
variety  of  topics,  richness  of  imagery,  and  elegance  of  expression,  it  is 
scarcely  too  much  to  say,  that  she  is  the  rival  of  Hannah  More,  or  to  pre- 
dict that  her  works  will  be  as  extensively  and  profitably  read,  as  those 
of  the  most  delightful  female  writer  of  the  last  generation.  All  het 
■Writings  are  pervaded  by  justness  and  purity  of  sentiment,  and  the 
highest  reverence  for  morality  and  religion;  and  may  safely  be  com- 
mended as  of  the  highest  interest  and  value  to  every  family  in  the  land." 
— Morning  News. 

"  Charlotte  Elizabeth's  works  have  become  so  universally  known,  and 
are  so  highly  and  deservedly  appreciated  in  this  country,  tliat  it  has  be- 
come almost  superfluous  to  mention  them.  We  doubt  exceedingly 
■whether  there  has  been  any  female  writ-er  since  Mrs.  Hannah  More, 
whose  works  are  likely  to  be  so  extensively  and  so  profitably  read  as 
hers.  She  thinks  deeply  and  accurately,  is  a  great  analysis!  of  the  ha- 
man  heart,  and  withal  clothes  her  thoughts  in  most  appropriate  and  elo- 
•jnent  language." — Albany  Argus. 

"  These  productions  constitute  a  bright  relief  to  the  corrupting  litera- 
ture in  which  our  age  is  so  prolific,  full  of  practical  instruction,  illustrt- 
tive  of  the  beauty  of  Protestant  Christianity,  and  not  the  lessaboundinj 
ts  eatertaining  description  ami  narrative-" — Journal  qf  Convmercc 


Charlotte  Elizabeth's  Works. 

PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS, 

HELEN   FLEETWOOD, 

OUDAH'S  LION, 

OUD>«A  CAPTA, 

THE  SIEGE   OF    DERRY, 

LETTERS  FROM   IRELAND, 

THE  ROCKITE, 

FLORAL   BIOGRAPHY, 

PRINCIPALITIES   AND  POWERS, 

ENGLISH  MARTYRS, 

PASSING  THOUGHTS, 

IZRAM,  a  Mexican  Tale,  OSRIC,  a  Missionary  Tale," 

CONFORMITY,  I 

THE  CONVENT  BELL,  a  Tale,  5 

GLIMPSES   OF  THE   PAST,  or  the  Museum 

PHILIP   AND  HIS   GARDEN, 

THE  FLOWER  OF   INNOCENCE, 

THE  SIMPLE  FLOWER, 

ALICE   BENDEN,  and  other  Tales, 

FEMALE  MARTYRS. 

TALES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

DRESSMAKERS   AND  MILLINERS, 

THE   FORSAKEN   HOME, 

THE   LITTLE  PIN-HEADERS, 

THE  LACE   RUNNERS, 

LETTER  WRITING, 

BACK  BITING, 

PROMISING  AND  PERFORMING, 


1vol. 

12ino. 

9C  BO 

<l 

II 

50 

M 

II 

50 

U 

II 

50 

t( 

II 

50 

II 

II 

50 

II 

II 

50 

II 

11 

50 

II 

II 

50 

11 

11 

50 

It 

11 

50 

le,« 

11 

50 

II 

11 

50 

a 

II 

38 

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11 

33 

II 

11 

33 

11 

II 

38 

11 

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38 

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11 

25 

THE  PEEP   OF  DAY, 

Or  a  Series  of  tlie  earliest  Religious  instruction,  the  Infant 
Mind  is  capable  of  receiving,  with  verses  illustrative  ol 
the  subjects,  1  vol.  l8mo,  with  engravings.    ^0  50. 

LINE  UPON  LINE, 

By  the  Author  of  "  Peep  of  Day,"  a  second  series,  $0  50. 

PRECEPT  UPON   PRECEPT, 

By  the  author  of  "  Peep  of  Day,"  etc.,  a  third  series,  $0  50: 
This  is  probably  the  best  and  most  popular  series  of  Juve- 
nile Books  ever  published.  The  publishers  refer  with  the 
most  entire  confidence  to  all  parents  and  teachers  who  hav3 
introduced  these  books  into  their  families  or  schools,  who 
■who  will  testify  as  to  the  useful  and  correct  religious  instnio 
tion  which  they  cootain. 


HOME  STOKIES, 

BY  CHARLES  BUKDETT. 


THE   ADOPTED  CHILD, 

Or  the  necessity  of  Early  Piety,  by  Charles  Burdett,  tha 
author  of  "Emma,  or  the  Lost  Found."  1  voL  8vo; 
31  cents. 


LILLA   HART, 

A  Tale  of  New  York,  by  Charles  Burdett,  author  of  the 
"Adopted  Cliild,"  "Chances  and  Changes,"  &c.,  &<;. 
1  vol.  18mo.    50  cents. 


THE  CONVICT'S  CHILD, 

By  Charles  Burdett,  author  of  "  Lilla  Hart,"   "Adopted 
Child,"  dec,  &c.     1  vol.  l8mo.    50  cents. 

"  We  have  renciTcd  frcvn  the  author,  another  namber  of  the  series  of 
'  Home  Stories,'  as  he  well  calls  them,  which  for  two  or  three  years  past 
he  has  been  givinf;to  the  public.  Few  series  of  the  same  character  havQ 
been  received  with  greater,  or  with  equal,  popular  favur.  They  aim 
chiefly  to  rfo  ^oorf,— to  call  public  attention  to  Some  of  the  many  evils 
Which  afflict  society,  and  to  awaken  in  the  heart  sympathy  for  those 
upon  whom  they  fall.  They  are  uniformly  written  in  a  racy  vigorous 
though  sometimes  careless  style,  and  evince  an  active  and  acute  ob>-er- 
ration,  as  well  as  the  higher  qualities  of  fancy  and  imagination.  Tha 
Btory  is  always  interesting — the  characters  well  drawn,  and  the  narr»<- 
tive  well  calculated  to  rivet  attention,  which  is  fully  rewarded  by  t'le 
excellent  moral  and  religious  lessons  the  writet  aims  to  teach." — N.  Y. 
Courier  and  Enquirer. 

"  It  is  clear  that  Mr.  Burdett  has  told  many  a  tale— were  it  otherwlss 
he  could  not  have  told  the  tale  of  the  Convict's  Child  in  tne  way  tha^  he 
has  done  it.  We  would  not  lielieve  that  this  book  is  a  narrative  of  facts 
if  so  credible  a  man  as  the  author  had  not  assured  us  it  is  even  so,  and 
were  we  not  convinced  that '  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction.'  Those  who 
want  to  enjoy  a  luxury  of  tears  may  realize  their  wishes  by  following 
the  fortunes  of  Alida,  the  Convict's  Child.  The  stnry  makes  an  unpre- 
tending little  volume." — Southern  Christian  Advocate. 

"  The  moral  of  this  little  story  is  highly  commendable,  and  its  style  is 
characterized  by  simplicity  and  absence  of  pretension.  Illustrative  of 
Bouie  of  the  crying  evils  of  social  life,  growing  out  of  ill-founded  pre- 
judices against  the  offspring  of  wicked  parents,  its  plain  but  touching 
exposition  of  the  subject  must  tend  to  correct  so  great  a  wrong.  Such 
works  induce  a  better  spirit  in  society  for  those  unfortunates  who  are 
either  endangered  in  their  tender  years  by  that  very  parental  care  which 
Providence  designed  for  a  blessing,  or  are  left  without  any  watchful  eye 
to  discover,  and  careful  hand  to  guard  them  against  the  threatening 
inroads  of  vice  " — Protestant  Churchman 


THE  CONVICT'S  CHILD.— BY  chari.es  BURDBtt. 

••This  little  volume  partakes  of  the  general  character  of  the  serii* 
tte  Bpecial  aim  is  to  Fhow  the  consdiueiices  of  the  general  tendency  o» 
the  part  of  the  public  to  '  visit  the  sins  and  crimes  ot  parents  upon  chil 
dren,  no  matter  how  innocent,  no  matf«r  how  pure  or  virtuous.'     Tha*. 
this  tendency  is  general,— that  it  causes  an  immense  amount  of  suffer- 
inji, — entirely  unmerited,— and  that  it  should  be  remedied,  all  readily 
admit ;— and  we  certainly  know  no  way  in  which  a  better  state  of  public 
feeling  upon  the  subject  can  be  more  effectually  produced,  than  by  the 
circulcition  and  perusal  of  such  volumes  as  this.     It  is  exceedingly  in- 
teresting.—well  written,  and  will  certainly  be  widely  read.  We  cordially 
commend  it  to  the  attention  of  all  our  readers.     It  will  well  re[iay  the 
attention  which  it  so  strongly  attracts.    It  is  very  neatly  published  by 
INIessrs.  Baker  &  Scribner,  at  145  Nassau  street."— iV.  ,S.  Courier  and 
Enquirtr. 

"  Messrs.  Baker  &  Scribner,  New  York,  have  published  a  small 
Tolume,  neatly  bound  in  embossed  muslin,  entitled  The  Convict's 
Child.  The  author  is  Charles  Burdett,  Esq.,  who  has  for  sometime  past 
devoted  his  attention  to  the  pi'otluction  of  a  very  excellent  series  of  little 
works,  the  object  of  which  is  mainly  to  inspire  a  better  feeling  in  the 
community  toward.^  those  whose  poverty  or  want  of  proper  instruction 
leads  them  to  the  commission  of  errors,  of  which  they  would  undoubt- 
edly be  guiltless  if  the  smallest  helping  hand  were  extended  towards 
them  bv  those  whose  condition  of  life  is  more  elevated.  The  stories  of 
'Lilla  Hart,'  '  The  Adopted  Child,'  &c.,  by  this  benevolent  writer,  were 
■well  received  by  the  public^:  and  it  is  hoped  the  present  volume  will 
meet  with  similar  favor.  The  occupation  of  the  author — that  of  Ke- 
jHirter  to  one  of  the  best  newspapers  in  the  country— has  brought  him 
oftentimes  to  witness  occurrences  to  which  others  are  strangers.  The 
scenes  which  he  describes  are  drawn  from  life,  and  the  incidents  true, 
although  they  may  seem  strange." — Baltimore  American. 

CLEMENT  OF   ROME, 

A  Legend  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  with  an  introduction  by- 
Prof.  Taylor  Lewis.     1  vol.  18ino.     C3  cents. 

"  This  is  a  story  of  marked  and  continued  interest,  and  presents  some 
fine  traits  of  early  Christian  character,  rendered  more  brilliant  by  being 
associated  with  contemporary  Grecian  and  Roman  life.  It  is  introduced 
to  public  notice  by  Taylor  Lewis.  He  regards  it  as  a  correct  and  beau- 
tiful delineation  of  the  Christianity  of  the  first  century,  and  besides  as 
valuable,  for  the  faithful  representation  it  gives  of  Koman  manners." — 
Albany  Spectator. 

"  In  saying  that  this  is  a  work  of  fiction  we  must  explain  ourselves. 
In  order  to  realize  to  the  mind  the  interestini;  occurrences  of  the  first 
century,  Mrs.  J.  has  attempted  to  eke  out^  by  a  fruitful  iniagin:ition,  the 
facts  which  are  barely  glanced  at  in  the  New  Testament  and  other  early 
Vritings;  and  has  accomplished  her  daring  task  with  such  an  air  of 
probability— and  such  a  dramatic  effect,  as  cannot  fail  to  involve  the 
reader  in  the  utmost  interest.  The  author  had  doubtless  read  certain  of 
Bulwer's  novels  and  Shakspeare's  Historical  Tragedies— she  is  certainly 
familiar  with  Tacitus  and  Suetonius,  and  also  with  Eusebius,  Socrates, 
and  other  early  Christian  writers.  From  these  authors  stie  derives 
tlie  historical  facts  that  constitute  the  main  building,  which  she  adomi 
«o  tastefully  with  th^  beautiful  festoonery  of  her  inventive  geniusi"— 
i)C%lhern  Okriatian  lilvocate. 


THE  ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE   CHRISTIAN  CHURCH, 

Translated  and  compiled  from  the  works  of  Augusti,  with 
numerous  additions  from  Rheinwald,  Siege),  and  others; 
By  the  Rev.  Lyman  Coleman,  1vol.  8vo.    $2  50. 

COMPLETE  WORKS  OF  REV.  DANIEL   A.  CLARK. 

idited  by  his  son  James  Henry  Clark,  M.D.,  with  a  bio- 
graphical sketch,  and  an  estimate  of  his  powers  as  a 
preacher,  by  Rev.  George  Shepard,  A.M.,  Professor  of 
Sacred  Rhetoric,  Bangor  Theological  Seminar}',  2  vols. 
8vo.    S4  00. 


D'AUBIGNE   AND   HIS  WRITINGS, 

With  a  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  the  Author,  by  Rev.  Robert 
Baird,  D.D.,  1  vol.     l2mo.  ^half  bound.    $0  50. 
Do.  do.        do.  cloth.      $0  63. 

"  The  widespread  and  deserved  popularity  of  the  great  work  of  D'Au- 
bigne,  on  the  Reformation,  has  very  naturally  created  an  Interest  in 
everything  which  has  proceeded  from  his  pen,  or  relates  to  him  person- 
ally. His  discourses  and  smaller  works,  which  have  been  translated  and 
republished  in  this  country,  bear  evident  marks  of  a  common  paternity 
with  the  Great  Keformation;  and  that  is  praise  enough.  There  is  the 
same  purity  and  high  order  of  thought — the  same  engrossing  interest— 
and  the  same  directness  and  vigor  of  expression."— A/zaea  Chronicle. 

THE  LIVES  OF  THE   APOSTLES  OF    JESUS  CHRIST. 

By  D.  Francis  Bacon,  1  vol.    8vo.    $3  00. 

"  This  work  has  now  been  for  more  than  ten  years  before  the  public; 
and,  although  many  thousand  copies  have  been  scattered  abroad,  yet 
thousands  have  never  seen  it,  to  whom,  if  possessed  by  them,  it  could 
not  but  prove  of  inestimable  value.  It  is  the  result  of  many  years  of 
deep  research,  and  patient  investigation  of  works  of  various  kinds,  in 
different  languages,  which  bear  upon  the  lives  of  the  Apostles,  inde- 
pendent of  containing  a  clear  and  vivid  deline.'ition  of  the  lives  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Apostolic  college,  this  volume  has  other  claims  upon  us.  It 
presents  not  only  a  complete  history  of  the  early  Church,  but  throws 
much  light  on  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  text;  the  whole  written  with- 
out ambiguity,  and  in  so  simple  a  style,  as  to  adapt  itself  to  every  class 
of  readers.  The  edition  before  us, by  Hakerand  Scribner,  is  a  beautiful 
one,  and  must  command  an  extensive  sale.  It  can  be  obtained  at  any  of 
oiir  bookstores." — Albany  Spectator. 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  BIBLE. 

By  Gardiner  Spring,  D.  D.    1  vol.  12  mo,    $1. 


ESSAYS  ON  THE  PROGRESS  OF  NATIONS, 

In  prudnclive  Industry,  Civilization,  Population,  and 
Wealth  ;  illustrated  by  Statistics  of  Mining,  Agriculture, 
Manufactures,  Cunamerce,  Banking,  Revenues,  Internal 
Improvements,  Emigration,  Mortality  and  Population,  by 
Ezra  C.  Seaman. 

"  We  have  already  spoken  quite  fully  in  commendation  of  this  work, 
yet  have  said  less  than  its  inorits  deserve.  It  is  a  most  truthful  and  in- 
Btructive  work,  which  should  find  a  place  in  our  Village  and  Sehool 
Libraries,  and  be  studied  by  every  fireside.  All  men  in  a  republic  should 
possess  Bonie  knowledge  of  at  le:ist  the  elements  of  Political  Economy, 
and  yet  how  few  really  do  possess  it !  A  vague  instinct  of  self-interest, 
a  few  cherished  viewsand  some  rude  notion  of  what  experience  has  taught 
— these  compose  the  sum  of  what  is  known  of  Political  Economy  by  the 
vast  majority.  The  ponderous  volume  in  which  the  science  (?)  is  taught 
are  usually  inaccessible  to  the  mass  of  readers,  and  scarcely  intolligible, 
if  at  hand" ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  radical  errors  which  run  througli  most 
of  them.  Mr.-Seamen's  work  will  be  readily  understood  by  any  one,  and 
none  can  read  it  without  acquiring  broader  and  juster  views  of  national 
policy  and  a  wise  public  economy." — N.Y.  Tribune. 

"  The  work  so  justly  characterized  in  the  above,  copied  from  the  Tri- 
bune, is  for  sale  by  [Messrs.  Baker  &  Scribner.]  It  is  in  truth  a  work; 
of  great  research,  honest  and  convincine  in  its  expressions  of  opinion, 
and  admirably  calculated  by  its  array  of  incontrovertible  facts,  to  dis- 
pel the  many  erroneous  and  mischievous  notions  of  mere  theorizing 
political  economists.  We  warmly  commend  it  to  puljlic  favor,  as  a  boull 
of  great  interest  and  utility." — CommeTcial  Advertiser,  Buffalo. 

A  Letter  to  the  Author  from  Hem.  Millard  Fillmore. 

Buffalo,  Septembek  28,  1346. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  only  found  time,  amidst  the  pressure  of  profes- 
sional engagements,  to  read  a  few  chapters  of  your  "  Essays  on  the  Pro- 
gress of  Nations,"  but  I  have  read  enough  to  satisfy  me  that  it  is  a 
very  valuable  publication,  and  that  it  brings  within  the  reach  of  every 
man  a  vast  store  of  useful  information,  as  to  the  progress  of  agriculture 
and  the  arts  among  mankind,  which  can  be  found  nowhere  else  iu  so  con- 
densed and  cheap  a  form.  Your  sound  views  of  political  economy  are 
sustained  by  statistical  details  which  serve  at  once  to  illustrate  the  sul> 
ject  and  carry  conviction  to  the  mind. 

I  am  also  gratified  to  perceive  that  the  book  is  free  from  political  cant 
and  partizan  bias,  and  wish  a  copy  might  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  every 
enli.T'rtened  citizen.     Kespectulh',  yoiu^s,  ^ 

KG.  Seaman,  Esa.  MILLARD  FILLMOKE. 

THE  ELEMENTS  OF  ASTRONOMY, 

Designed  as  an  Introduction  to  the  Study.  1  vol  l8mo. 
25  cents. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  FLOWERS, 

By  James   Hervey,   author  of  "Medita/ions  among   thr 
Tombs."     1  vol.  l8mo.    31  cts. 

EMANUEL    ON  THE  CROSS  AND    IN  THt   GARDEN, 
By  IL  P.  Buddicora.    1  vol.  l2nio.    G3  cts. 


SLAVERY  DISCUSSED  IN  OCCASIONAL  ESSSAYS, 

Prom  1833  to  184G,  by  the  Rev,  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D,, 

Pastor  of  the  first  Congregational  church,  New  Haven, 

Conn.    1  vol.  l2mo.     75  cents. 

"  This  volume  contains  some  of  tlie  calmest  and  ablest  essays  on  the 
%-exeil  question  of  Slavery  we  have  ever  met  with.  The  writer  is  one 
of  ths  happy  few  who  have  been  able  to  examine  it  dispassionately,  and 
the  general  circulation  of  his  views  cannot  fail  to  do  much  good  among 
all  classes  of  readers.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  title,  the  essays  aover  a 
suflicieut  space  to  embrace  nearly  all  the  phases  the  question  has  un- 
dergone, and  of  course,  being  written  honestly,  display  some  diversity 
of  opinion,  but  as  a  whole  they  are  remax'kably  congruous." — Buffalo 
Commercial  Advertiser. 


THE  LIFE  AND  VOYAGES  OF  AMERICUS  VESPUCIUS, 

With  illustrations  concerning  the  Navigator  and  Discovery 

of  the  New  World,  by  C.  E.  Lester  and  Andrew  Foster. 

1  vol.  8va     ^^2  50. 

"  The  subject  of  this  work  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  attract  and  interest 
every  American.  The  man  who  gave  name  to  this  great  western  con- 
tinent can  never  be  forgotten.  The  volume  before  us  is  not  the  produc- 
tion of  a  few  short  days  ;  it  has  occupied  mouths  of  labor  and  research. 
Many  old  manuscripts  in  Italian,  Spanish  and  German  bearing  on  his 
life  and  voyages,  have  been  carefully  examined  ;  and  all  the  large  librar 
ries  in  this  country  have  been  searched  for  collections  relative  to 
•the  great  disroverer — a  title  which  many  will  not  award  to  him.  For 
much  of  the  value  of  the  work,  and  for  the  translations  of  interesting 
letters,  the  public  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Foster,  of  Boston,  to  whom  the 
original  foreign  MSS.  and  letters  were  committed  for  translation.  It  is 
written  in  that  flowing  and  attractive  style  which  characterizes  all  Mr. 
Lester's  productions,  and  cannot  fail  to  have  an  extensive  circulation."— 
Albany  Spectator. 


THE   ARTISTS  OF  AMERICA, 

Illustrated  with  nine  engravings  on  steel,  and  containing 
sketclies  of  the  lives  of  Washington  Alston,  Henry 
Inman,  Benjamin  West,  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart,  Joha 
Trumbull,  James  DeVeaux,  Rembrandt  Peale  and 
Thomas  Crawford.     1  vol.  8vo.     $2- 

"Its  object  is  to  give  us  sfeetches  of  the  eminent  Artists  of  America 
In  successive  numbers,  beautifully  printed,  and  accompanied  with  an 
engraved  likenetss  of  each.  This  is  a  worthy  project,  and  should  be 
larjiely  patronized  iiy  all  our  citizens.  We  ;ire  flooded  with  light, 
llimsy,  sentimental  periodicaLs — this  is  something  different,  and  will  add 
to  our  knowledge  of  our  own  land."— iV.  H.  Herald. 

"  A  book  which  will  fill  a  long-felt-vacancy  on  the  shelves  of  onr 
iibrariauF,  and  one  that  is  deserving  to  receive  the  encouragement  of 
£tvery  bv^rof  fiiifi  arte  in  our  country." — Brookliju  Daily  Mvertiser. 


NEW  WORK  ON  THE   APOCALYPSE. 
The  Coming  of  the  Lord  ;  a  Key  to  the  Book  of  Revelatforx 
By  the  Rev.  James  M.  Macdonald.    1  vol.  I'imo;  75  cents. 

"We  have  not  lately  peen  a  more  rational  anil  (•nn<;istent  exposition  of 
tile  great  platform  of  future  prophecy,  than  I\It.  MaciitiMald  has  here  so 
succinctly  and  clearly  presented.  He  evidently  came  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  book  without  any  preconstructed  theory  or  hohl.y;  and 
eandidly  studying,  with  the  aid  of  no  incon.siderable  scholarship,  the 
word  in  its  own  lit,'ht,  and  seekinfr  to  know  the  nnnd  of  the  Spirit,  he- 
has  presented  an  outline  which  strike.s  n^i  n.s  eniineiitly  consistent  with  the 
whole  scope  of  the  Scriptures,  and  with  the  unilurm  belief  of  the  wise 
and  good  in  air  ages  of  the  Church.  Tl>e  clear  .and  animated  style  ia 
which  the  truth  ia  set  forth,  without  any  i)arade  of  learning,  (though 
not  without  its  light  and  power,)  renders  the  book  exceedingly  interest- 
ing, and  well  adapted  for  popalai-  reading.'"— iV.  Y.  J:)vaii^'cUxl. 

"The  work  of  Mr.  Macdonald  displays  commendable  research,  and 
certainly  presents  a  very  intelligent  comment,  which  may  be  read  witli 
profit  even  by  those  who  may  not  n^ee  with  him  in  all  his  view.s.  He 
has  aimed  at  simplicity,  and  may  be  easily  understood.  This  is  no  or- 
dinary praise.  Literaiists  will  not  think  he  has  hit  oj)  the  right  key  in 
interpreting  gome  passages,  but  he  treats  their  views  courteously.  Aa 
appendix  contains  an  interpretation  of  some  of  the  prophecies  of  Daniel." 
— Presbyterian. 

"  We  have  long  known  the  estimable  author,  as  a  scholar  of  no  ordi- 
nary attainments,  and  a  gentleman  on  whose  steadines.s  of  )>riuciple 
and  sound  judgment  we  are  disposed  to  rely  as  confidently  as  on  those 
of  any  man  within  the  sphere  of  our  acquaintance.  The  perusal  of  his  in- 
troduction convinced  us  that  ne  had  not  only  entered  upon  his  work  ia 
the  most  cautious  and  reverent  spirit,  but  prosecuted  it  throughout  on- 
Bound  principles  of  Scriptural  research.  Mliether  his  theory  be  the  true 
one  or  not,  it  is  simple  and  comprehensive,  and  has  led  him  especially  to- 
develope  the  practical  teachings  of  the  book  before  him. 

'•  The  style  of  the  book  is  pure,  perspicuou.s  and  elegant,  occasionally- 
rising  into  the  highest  eloquence.  Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertain- 
of  its  merits  as  a  systematic  and-  continuoiis  commentary,  its  literary 
execution  is  in  every  sense  creditable." — Protestant  Cluirchman. 

"This  is  a  modest  sensible  little  book.  And  if  our  judgment  be  cor- 
rect, this  is  saying  not  a  little  fi/r  a  manuel  on  the  Apocalypse.  The 
truth  is,  although  we  have  never  been  inclined  to  eiulorse  the  profanity 
which  has  been  Withered  on  Dr.  South,— that  the  study  of  the  Kevela- 
tion  eitherfinds  a  man  mail  or  make.'*  him  so, — yet  as  so  many  monoma- 
niacs have  of  late  been  trifling  with  this  book  an<l  its  cogn.-ite  in  the  Olci 
Testament,  we  have  been  very  chary  in  our  outlay  of  time  and  money 
for  expositions  of  them.  But  we  have  rend  Mr.  i\I;xdini!ild,  and  we  are 
glad  that  we  have  done  so.  The  author  has  very  carefully  avoided  an- 
error  into  which  the  expounders  of  prophecy  generally  full — he  has  not 
presumed  to  prophecy  himself.  His  plan,  to  use  his  own  language,  i* 
"mmply  to  afford  an  index  to  the  bearing  and  general  seope  of  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  b<iok, 

"  Those  who  read  Macdonald  will  be  gratified  to  see  how  easily  he  dis- 
poses of  certain  classes  of  I\lilli!nariaii.-- — inclncling  the  Patristic  and  se- 
Tcral  tribes  of  our  own  day— espcoiallv  those  dreamers  who  imagine  » 
personal,  sa-ular  reign  of  fHirist  with  flie  martyrs,  tor  a  thousand  years. 
The  appendix  contains  a  simple  analysis  and  exposition  of  Danii^l's  pro- 
phecies; having  this  peculiarity,  that  the  2.3iK)  days,  the  l-.'9n  d.ays,  th# 
Ki35  days,  are  literally  explained  acoording  tu  tba  x^nX  history  oi  thcx« 


timi2S.  The  fonr  beasts  of  Daniel's  first  rision,  also,  are  considered  en- 
tirely distinct  from  the  four  divisions  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  colossal  im- 
age, and  are  referred  to  the  fourfold  division  of  Alexander's  empire.  Bnt 
we  must  stop,  and  let  our  readers  get  the  \)Ook."—Southern  Chri*. 
iMeth.)  Advocate. 

"  We  are  pleased  with  the  character  of  this  work,  and  the  plan  pop- 
sued  by  the  author.  He  possesses  a  clear  and  investigating  mind,  and 
his  exposition  throws  light  and  clearness  on  the  Book  of  Revelations 
which  can  be  gathered  from  no  other  source.  It  will,  no  doubt,  be  a 
popular  book  among  theologians,  and  will  be  referred  to  and  quoted  as 
authority  by  many  who  have  hitherto  paid  but  little  attention  to  this 
highly  interesting  and  sublime  portion  of  the  Word  of  Life." — Gene- 
iee  Evangelist. 

"  This  book  is  adapted  to  the  common  mind ;  written  with  judgment, 
good  sense,  and  great  simplicity.  There  are  more  learned  and  elaborate 
treatises  on  this  book  ;  but  we  have  met  with  none  so  well  adapted  to 
the  common  mind  desirous  to  obtain  a  general  knowledge  of  the  visions 
vouchsafed  to  John  in  Patmos.  To  us  it  is  a  great  recommendation  of 
this  work  that  'Literalism'  and  'the  personal  reign  of  Christ  upon 
earth,'  find  in  it  no  aA\0C3.cy. ''^—Elizabethtovm  Journal. 


A  Key  to  the  Book  of  Re%'elations,  with  an  appendix.    By 

Jaones  M.  Macdonald. 

"  As  this  work  relates  to  a  portion  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  which, 
by  common  consent,  is  more  difficult  of  interpretation  than  any  other, 
it  were  not  to  be  expected  that  any  work  on  this  subject  should  com- 
mand anything  like  the  universal  approbation  of  Protestant  or  Evan- 
gelical Christians.  But  we  think  none  can  read  the  present  volume  with- 
out perceiving  that  it  is  no  novice  who  is  adventuring  into  this  sublime, 
obscure,  we  had  almost  said,  shadowy  field.  The  writer  has  evidently 
studied  his  subject  with  profound,  earnest  and  devout  attention ;  and  he 
evinces  much  of  that  sobriety  of  mind,  that  patience  of  investigation, 
that  disposition  to  bow  implicitly  to  the  divine  authority,  which  consti- 
tute the  essential  and  primary  requisites  to  a  good  commentator.  From 
some  of  his  positions  we  might  be  disposed  to  dissent ;  but  as  a  whole, 
the  work  certainly  possesses  uncommon  merit,  and  from  its  popular  as 
well  as  its  sober  character  is  likely  to  render  this  difficult  portion  of 
Scripture  much  better  understood  by  a  larj-e  class  of  readers  than  it  hafl 
hitherto  \>tm.^'— Albany  Spectator. 


THE  SHORTER  CATECHISM 

Of  the  Rev.  Assembly  of  Divines,  with  proofs  thereof  out 
of  the  Scriptures,  in  words  at  length.  l8mo.     $5  per  100, 

HINTS  TO  CHRISTIANS, 
By  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Skinner,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  Edward 
Beecher,  D.  D.     1  vol.  32mo.     13  cts. 

SERMONS, 
By  Hugh  Blair,  D.  D.,  to  which  is  prefixed  the  Life  and 
Character  of  the  author,  by  James  Finlayson,   D.D. 
1  vol.  8vo.    S2. 


THE  PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES, 

By  the  Rev.  Edwin  Hall,  Pastor  of  the  First  Congrega 

tional  Church,  Norwalk,  Conn.,  1  vol.    8vo.    S2  50.  i, 

"  Tbe  appearance  of  an  able  and  standard  work  on  an  important  snb 
j*ct  is  an  event  to  be  hailed  with  pleasure.  Such  a  work  has  lately  ap. 
peared  under  the  title, '  The  Puritans  and  their  Principles. '  It  is  from 
the  pen  of  Kev.  Edwin  Hall,  of  Norwalk,  Conn.  The  author  handles  his 
great  subject  with  all  tlie  ease  of  conftcious  Btrength  and  skill.  He 
wields  his  ponderous  sledge  so  lightly,  that  we  are  deceived  as  to  it» 
weight,  till  we  hear  the  crushing  blow,  and  see  the  sparkling  shower,  as 
the  instrument  rings  on  the  sounding  anril.  It  is  then  that  we  admire 
the  vigor  of  the  stalwart  arm. 

"  Rather  more  than  half  of  his  well  printed  octavo  is  historical,  and 
gives  a  condensed,  but  thorough  account  of  the  origin,  history,  opinions, 
Bufferings,  enterprizes,  reverses  and  successes  of  the  admirable  class  of 
men,  of  whom  David  Hume  has  testified  that '  the  precious  spark  of  liberty 
had  been  kindled  by  the  Puritans  aIon«,'  and  that  it  is  to  them  that 
'  the  English  owe  the  whole  freedom  of  their  constitution.'  •  To  them 
the  people  of  America  are,  even  more  thau  the  English,  indebted  for  their 
best  social  institutions  and  their  noblest  traits  of  national  character. 
Tothem  tlie  Christian  world  is  destined  toconiract  agrowing  debt  of  ob- 
ligation and  gratitude.' 

"  Having  given  a  masterly  pketch  of  the  character  and  '  mighty 
deeds'  of  the  men,  Mr.  Hall  proceeds  to  state  and  to  vindicate  their 
their  principles.  Himself  a  Puritan  in  spirit  and  sentiment,  he  is  'aS 
home,'  in  this  discussion.  He  clearly  exhibits  the  church-iiolity  of  our 
fathers  from  foundation  to  ])innacle,  and  proves  that  it  is  fashioned  faith- 
fully '  according  to  the  pattern  in  the  Mount.'  Here  he  conies  into  col- 
lision with  the  prelatical  faction  whose  hierarchal  zeal  has  ever  hotly 
persecuted  the  Puritans,  cither  in  their  persons  or  their  memory.  The 
Episcopal  divines  of  our  day,  dissatisfied  with  the  arguments  relied  upon 
in  olden  times,  have  sought  to  rest  their  claims  on  new  foundations. 
But  Mr.  Hall  has  demolished  the  new  masonry,  as  well  as  the  old,  and 
his  work  is  especially  valuable,  as  a  triumpliant  confutation  of  the  most 
recent  methods  of  defending  the  assumptions  of  prelacy.  Without 
pomp  and  without  ornament,  he  marches  through  the  field  of  debate,  like 
a  champion  who  cannot  be  stopped,  and  will  not  be  drawn  aside.  He  fol- 
lows close  uj.ion  the  retreating  foe,  till  the  adverary,  able  to  recede  no 
further, '  dies  in  the  last  ditch.' 

"  This  book  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  all  who  wish  to  learn,  easily 
and  accurately,  what  the  Puritans  thought  and  did.  It  ought  to  have  a 
place  on  the  shelves  of  every  minister,  who  desires  to  be  furnished  with 
fitting  materials  for  his  '  Thanksgiving  Sermons.'  It  would  make  an 
appropriate  text-book  for  any  who  love  to  study  those  times  whereof 
Hugh  Peters  said,  '  This  is  an  age  to  make  examjiles  and  precedents 
in"  It  should  be  perused  by  any  degenerate  son  of  the  Pilgrims,  wno 
may  be  meditating  filial  treason  and  impiety,  and  who  may  be  j)arleying 
with  the  Philistines  about  deserting  to  their  camp,  where  he  will  he 
forced  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  conversion  l)y  being  foremost  to 
defile  the  sepulchres  of  his  sires.  This  book  might  be  given  with  good 
effect,  to  the  '  bom  and  bred'  prelatist,  were  it  not  the  common  tendency 
of  8>ich  an  one,  in  these  uuheroic  times,  to  slide  still  further  down  the 
hill  by  the  power  of  moral  gravitation,  rather  than  climb  the  elevated 
enmrait  of  truth,  where  the  air  is  freest,  the  jirospeet  widest  and  the 
heavens  brightest. 

'*  These  Unea  are  from  ose  who  ba»  no  acqaaintance  with  the  antboi> 


except  through  his  bciok  ;  and  who  has  uo  interest  in  the  bjok,  except 
that  which  is  awalvened  by  a  grateful  perusal  of  '  The  Puritans  and  their 
Principles.'  This  notice  is  written  as  a  slight  tribute  to  meritorious  in- 
dustry, and  in  the  hojte  of  aiding  the  circulation  of  a  truly  valuable 
Tolume." — New  England  Puritaii. 

"  This  is  an  elaborate,  learned,  and  exceedingly  interesting  work.  Ita 
subject  is  one  of  absorbing  Interest  to  the  statesman  ami  the  Christian. 
Mr.  Hall  discusses  the  causes  which  brought  the  Pilgrims  to  these 
shores,  and  their  principles ;  and  vindicates  them  from  the  aspersiona 
which  have  been  cast  upon  them  They  were  the  most  remarkable  men 
that  ever  reached  the  continent ;  and  their  monument  is  Civil  and 
Religious  Liberty  in  the  Earth.  This  book  should  have  its  place  in 
every  library,  and  be  in  the  hands  of  every  descendant  of  the 
Puritans." — N.  J.  Journal. 

"  The  design  of  the  work  is  to  set  forth  the  causes  which  brought  the 
Pilgrims  to  these  shores;  to  exhibit  their  principles ;  to  show  what 
these  principles  are  worih.  and  what  it  costs  to  maintain  them  ;  to  vin- 
dicate the  cliaracter  of  tiie  Puritans  from  the  asjiersious  which  have 
been  cast  upon  them,  and  to  show  the  Puritanic  system  op  Chukch 
Polity, — as  distingnielied  from  the  Prelatie, — broadlj'  and  solidly 
ba^ed  on  the  Word  of  God  ;  inseparable  from  religious  Purity  and  Reli- 
gious Freedom  ;  and  of  immense  permanent  importance  to  the  best 
interests  of  mankind. 

"  The  publication  is  intended  to  bring  together  such  historical  informa- 
tion concerning  the  Puritans  as  is  now  scatti  red  through  many 
volumes,  and  cannot  be  obtained  but  with  1 
an  outlay  beyond."' — New  Haven  Courier. 

"  The  author  enters  with  considerable  minuteness  into  English  eccle- 
siastical history  prior  to  the  persecutions  of  the  Puritans,  reviews  the 
events  which  more  immediately  led  to  their  emigration  to  this  country, 
traces  the  effects  of  that  step  on  the  institutions  and  religious  character 
of  the  people  of  both  continents,  and  ihen  enters  into  an  analysis  of  both 
prelatical  and  Puritanical  church  polity,  and  warmly  and  eloquently 
defends  the  latter.  The  style  of  the  work  is  vigorous  and  clothes  a 
subject  on  whicli  much  has  been  already  written  with  new  attractions, 
Combining  succinctness  of  historical  detail  with  elegance  of  diction." — 
J^.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  After  an  introduction,  containins:  a  glance  at  the  condition  of  Eng- 
land before  the  days  of  Wickliffe,  we  are  presented  with  a  liistory  of 
Wickliffe  and  his  times,  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  the  rise  of  the 
Puritans,  from  whence  we  trace  them  in  their  conflicts,  visit  them  in 
their  prisons,  follow  them  in  their  wan  lerings,  and  come  with  them  to 
their  first  rude  dwellings  in  the  American  wilderness.  We  behold  the 
foundation  here  rising  under  their  hands,  until  the  wilderness  became 
transformed  into  a  fair  and  fruitful  field.  The  principles  of  these  noble 
men  are  exhibited  and  explained.  The  matter  of  Church  Poliiy  is  dis- 
cussed, and  thi-  claims  of  Prelacy  are  brought  to  the  test  of  reason,  o* 
histMfc.  and  of  the  Word  of  God." 


t^ 


Hartford  Christian  Secretary. 


"  We  cannot  forbear  to. express  our  conviction  that  it  is  a  work  of 
great  merit,  and  has  no  common  claims,  especially  upon  the  regard  of 
those  who  have  the  blood  of  the  Puritans  flowing  in  their  veins.  Ita 
historical  details  evince  the  most  diligent  research,  and  its  vigorous  and 
masterly  discussion  of  important  principles,  shows  a  judicious,  diacrimi- 
ii.ating,  and  thoroughly  trained  mind.  As  the  subjects  of  which  it 
treats,  have  to  a  great  extent,  a  controversial  bearing,  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  all  will  judge  in  the  tame  manner  of  the  merits  of  the 


book,  but  we  think  all  who  possess  ordinary  candor  mtist  agree  that  it 
is  written  with  no  common  ability,  and  coiUains  a  great  amount  of  use' 
ful  information."— il/6a;iV  American  Cilizen. 

"  This  is  a  neatly  printed  octavo,  of  Iietween  400  and  500  pages,  from 
the  pen  of  one  who  has  proved  himself  master  of  his  subject.  It  gives  tha 
history  of  the  Puritans,  embracing  the  most  of  its  material  ami  interest- 
ing facts  ;  and  also  makes  these  facts  subserve  a  defence  of  the  charac- 
ter and  principles  of  our  ancestors.  The  work  is  ably  and  thoroughly 
Kxecuted,  and  it  ought  to  furnish  a  part  of  the  library  of  every  descend- 
ant of  the  Puritans."— A'ctc  England  Puritan. 

"  The  work  tefore  us  is  the  fruit  of  much  research  and  thought,  and 
will  stand,  in  our  opinion,  as  a  noble  defence  of  the  character  and  prin- 
ciples of  men  whose  mouumeut  is  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  the 
earth.  ,  ,  „ 

This  volume  is  richly  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  library  of  every  oollepe, 
and  of  everv  man  who  wishes  to  understand  the  true  greatness  of  the 
Puritan.^.  We  pres\ime  that  it  will  be  very  generally  sought  after  and 
extensively  read.— A'.  Y.  Observer." 

"  After  an  Introduction,  containing  a  glance  at  the  condition  of  Eng- 
land before  the  days  of  Wickliffe,  we  are  presented  with  a  history  of 
Wicklifife  and  his  times,  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  the  rise  of  the 
Puritans,  from  whence  we  trace  them  in  their  conflicts,  visit  them  in 
their  prisons,  follow  them  in  their  wanderings,  and  come  with  them  to 
their  first  rude  dwellings  in  the  American  wilderness.  We  behold  the 
foundation  here  rising  under  their  hands,  until  the  wilderness  became 
transformed  into  a  fair  and  fruitful  field.  The  principles  of  these  noble 
men  are  exhibited  and  explained.  The  matter  of  Church  Polity  is  dis- 
cussed, and  the  claims  of  Prelacy  are  brought  to  the  test  of  reason,  of 
history,  and  of  the  Word  of  Qoi."— Hartford  Christian  Secretary. 

AN  EXPOSITION   OF   THE   LAW  OF   BAPTISM, 

As  it  regards  the  mode  and  the  subject,  by  the  Rev.  Edwin 

Hall,  Pastor  of  the  first  Congregational  Church,  Norwalk, 

Conn.,  third  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.    SO  75. 

"  This  is  a  new  edition  of  a  work  first  published  in  1840.  It  has  met 
with  great  favor  from  those  whose  views  on  the  subject  discussed  are 
those  of  the  Author  It  is  an  able  and  learned  treatise;  and  upon  the 
points  mairly  treated, leaves  but  little  to  be  said  either  in  the  way  of  ad- 
dition or  objection.  It  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  Theological  Libra- 
ry.— ii.  y.  Journal. 

THEOPNEUSTY,  ^ 

Or  the  Plenary  In.«pi  ration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  b^  R. 
L.  Gaussen,  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  new  Theologi- 
cal School  of  Geneva,  Switzerland.  Third  American, 
from  the  second  French  edition,  revised  and  enlarged  by 
the  Author.  Translated  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Norris  Kirk, 
1  vol.    l2rao.    SO  75. 


THE  FAMILY  OF  BETHANY, 
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Hugh  White.     1  vol.   l8mo.    38  cts. 

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THE  STORY  OF  GRACE, 

The  Little  Sufferer.     1  vol.   18mo.    31  cts. 

ADOLPHUS  AND  JAMES, 
By  the  Rev.  Napoleon  Roussel,  translated  from  the  Frenchj 
1  vol.  iSmo.    31  cLs. 

THE  LILY   OF  THE  VALLEY,  by  Mrs.  Sherwood.    31  cts. 

SHANTY,  THE  BLACKSMITH,  by  Mrs.  Sherwood.    SOcts. 

THE  TRAVELLER, 

Or  the  Wonders  of  Art,    1  vol.  iSmo.    38  cts. 

FLOWER  FADED. 

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COUNSELS  TO  THE  YOUNG. 

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SELF-CULTIVATION,  by  Tryon  Edwards. 
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TRANSPLANTED  FLOWERS, 

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NAPOLEON  AND   HIS  MARSHALS, 

By  J.  T.  Headlev,  illustrated  with  12  engravings  on  steel, 

2  vols.  12mo.    $2  50. 

"  The  brilliant  pen  of  our  friend  and  correspondent  has  been  taaked 
for  its  highest  and  happiest  efforts  in  these  descriptions  of  men  and 
scenes  whose  names  are  illustrious  in  the  annals  of  history.  The  de- 
fence of  Napoleon  in  the  first  volume  has  not  been  successfully  im- 
peached by  the  critics,  and  we  are  pleased  with  the  evidence  that  Rlr. 
Headley  observes  with  the  eye  of  a  philosopher,  while  poetry  distils  aa 
the  dew  from  his  flowing  pen." — A'.  Y.  Observer. 

"  31r.  Headley's  peculiarities  as  an  author  are  universally  known.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  Bpirit-stirring  Avriters  of  the  day — espe- 
cially graphic  and  powerful  in  narratives  of  exciting  events.  In  battle 
scenes  he  has  succeeded  better  than  any  other  writer  of  the  day;  and  he 
has  therefore  very  wisely  given  the  most  of  his  efforts  to  this  class  of 
writings.  No  one  can  fail  to  get  from  his  descriptions,  most  graphic, 
vivid  and  lasting  impressions  of  the  scenes  of  which  he  speaks. 

The  two  volumes  in  which  I\lr.  Headley  has  sketched  the  lives,  charac- 
ters, and  leading  exploits  of  Napoleon  and  the  band  of  unrivalled  war- 
riors by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  are  among  the  most  readable  recently 
issued  from  the  press,  and  in  the  spirit  of  interest  they  arouse  in  the 
great  events  with  which  they  are  connected,  will  be  found  a  source  of 
great  profit  as  well  as  pleasure  and  interest.  They  are  very  handsomely 
printed,  and  contain  a  nnmber  of  very  fine  outline  portraits  of  the  most 
prominent  characters.  The  work  will  form  a  valuable  accession  to  every 
public  and  private  library." — N.  Y.  Courier  4"  Enquirer. 

"  Mr.  Headley  is  a  clear  and  powerful  writer,  and  seems  to  catch  more 
and  more  of  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  as  he  advances  in  his  work.  There 
is  no  slacking  of  energy  or  abatement  of  interest  to  the  very  last ;  and 
you  arise  from  the  perusal  of  the  volumes,  with  new  and  more  reasonable 
views  of  the  life  and  character  of  Napoleon,  and  with  greater  admira- 
tion of  his  brave  Marshals,  than  you  had  ever  been  able  to  gather 
from  the  one-eyed  writings  of  prejudiced  Englishmen." — Albany  Spec- 
tator. 

"  With  a  subject  ever  the  same  in  its  general  features,  the  Author  has 
accomplished  the  difficult  task  of  giving  individuality  to  the  different 
battle  scenes,  and  e;ich  Chieftain  is  marked  by  characteristics  which 
distinguish  him  from  his  fellows.  No  one  can  read  these  terrific  de- 
scriptions without  being  greatly  moved  and  feeling  more  deeply  than 
ever  the  horrors  and  misery  of  war.  Alison  has  obtained  a  great  reputa- 
tion as  a  painter  of  battles,  but  it  seems  to  us  that  he  is  really  surpassed 
by  Headlej'.  As  an  American  writer  with  an  American  heart,  we  com- 
mend him  to  the  Western  public." — Cincinnati  Paper. 

"  A  spirit  stirring,  trumpet-toned  description  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  and  scenes  of  this  interesting  portion  of  modem  history,  when 
written  by  one  of  the  most  accomplished  descriptive  writers  of  the  age, 
will  form  a  valuable  addition  to  any  library.  In  describing  battle  scenes 
and  military  exploits,  Mr.  H.  has  succeeded  better  than  any  writer  of 
the  day  ;  and  no  one  can  read  this  work  without  carrying  away  with  him 
a  clear  and  lasting  impression — a  sort  of  Daguerreotype  of  the  brilliant 
scenes  and  passages  at  arms,  which  he  has  attempted  to  portray." — A'cu) 
Haven  Herald. 

"  The  fifth  edition  of  this  work  is  before  us.  I\Ir.  Headley  is  a  bril- 
liant writer,  and  sustains  his  high  reputation  in  the  grapliic  biographie» 
of  th«  '  Great  Captiun '  and  bis  iltuatrious  Marshals.    It  is  almost  toti 


late  for  ns  to  say  a  word  in  commendation  of  these  Tolnmes  ;  vre  only  ezy 
that  if  yet  unread  by  any  who  desire  a  liberal  view  of  the  character  aiid 
coarse  of  Napoleon,  there  is  a  delightful  entertainment  before  them  of 
which  they  should  partake  as  soon  as  possible.  They  are  amongst  the 
most  interesting  yoiumes  we  have  ever  read." — A'.  J.  Journal. 

"  This  work  has  placed  Mr.  Headley  in  a  high  rank  as  a  strong  and 
clear  writer,  and  a  sound  thinker.  His  accounts  of  Napoleon  and  hia 
Officers  seem  to  us  to  be  the  most  faithful  ever  yet  written ;  and  hie 
descriptions  of  various  battles  and  exciting  events  are  remarkably 
graphic,  glowing  and  picturesque.  Mr.  Headley  is  a  talented  man;  and 
we  place  implicit  confidence  in  his  opinion,  at  the  same  time  that  wo 
admire  his  style." — Cincinnati  Chroncle. 

"  Indeed  the  .work  is  one  of  remarkable  power,  and  will  add  much  to 
the  already  well  earned  reputation  of  the  author.  It  is  written  in  a 
brilliant  and  animated  style;  and  the  reader  ceases  to  be  a  critic  in  ad- 
miration of  the  splendid  achievements  of  Napoleon  and  his  Mar.shals — 
Bo  graphically  and  vividly  portrayed,  thateach  sentenee  seems  a  picture; 
and  the  whole  book  but  a  magnificent  panorama  of  the  battle-fields  or 
Marengo,  Austerlitz,  Waterloo,  etc. 

"No  author,  observes  a  contemporary,  has  a  quicker  appreciation  of 
the  prominent  points  in  the  character  he  is  describing,  or  a  happier 
faculty  of  setting  them  before  his  readers  than  Mr.  Headley.  His 
sketch  of  Napoleon,  we  will  venture  to  say,  gives  a  better  defined  and 
truer  idea  of  'the  Man  of  Destiny,'  than  any  biography  in  the  language. 
It  relieves  Napoleon  from  the  misrepresentations  of  English  writers, 
and  shows  that  for  the  long  and  bloody  wars  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
Eagland  was  directly  responsible." — Cincinnati  Atlas. 

"We  commend  this  work  to  our  readers  as  one  of  unusual  intere^, 
written  with  force  rather  than  elegance — with  honest  warmth,  rather 
than  cold  discrimination.  The  pictures  which  it  contains  are  drawn 
with  masculine  and  startling  vigor,  and  although  pretending  to  be  de- 
scriptive of  individuals,  are  connected  with  vivid  accounts  of  the  glorious 
campaigns  in  which  they  were  the  actors." — Pennsylv anian. 

"The  abi  ity  and  graphic  power  which  Mr.  Headley  has  evinced  in 
these  delineations,  will  not  only  not  be  questioned,  but  place  him  in  the 
first  rank  of  de.soriptive  writers.  Whether  the  same  deference  will  be 
paid  to  the  soundness  of  his  rea.soning,  or  the  justness  of  his  views,  ia 
doubtful.  His  ardent  love  of  freedom,  and  his  generous  appreciation  of, 
and  sympathy  with,  whatever  is  noble  in  character  or  action,  give  a 
charm  to  these  volumes  and  invest  them  with  a  good  moral  influence 
The  reader  will  not  only  find  interest  and  excitement,  and  considerable 
additions  to  the  minuteness  and  accuracy  of  his  historical  knowledge, 
but  many  of  the  most  elevated  sentiments,  in  the  perusal  of  the  work. 
It  is  finely  executed,  and  embellished  with  spirited  etchings  on  gteel."— 
N.   y.  Evangelist. 

"  We  speak  of  these  volumes  with  great  pleasure,  because  we  hare  not 
of  late  met  with  a  work  so  instructive,  which  has  been  so  entertaining. — 
The  sketches  are  but  sketches,  but  with  the  skilful  hand  of  a  painter, 
the  author  has  presented  the  most  prominent  traits  in  the  character  of 
each  of  his  subjects  so  forcibly,  that  the  man  stands  boldly  forth  on  the 
page,  and  you  seem  almost  to  be  the  companion  of  the  gallant  heroes  who 
eurrounded  the  '  Man  of  Destiny.' 

"  We  cannot  undertake  to  condense  these  sketches,  or  extract  portions 
for  our  columns.  They  should  be  read,  and  wherever  they  are  known 
they  will  be  read.  As  we  have  turned  the  last  leaf  upon  each  of  the 
Marshals,  we  have  tliought  each  picture  more  vivid  and  beautiful  than 
the  last,  and  we  closed  the  volumes  with  regret,  that  the  pleasures  we 
bad  enjoyed,  could  not  again  return  with  their  orijjiual  freehness. 


"  If  yon  love  vivij  pictnres  by  a  niastrr  hanj,  it  you  wonlJ  feci  the 
blood  curdle  in  your  vuina  as  you  read  cjf  inaddciiiiis  charge,  and  terrible 
assault;  geek  these  volumes,  peruse  them  carefully,  and  y<iu  will  LJt 
close  them  without  musing  in  silent  admiration  of  the  mighty  genius 
whose  pomp  and  power  blazed  like  a  meteor  on  the  world,  and  sunk  in  the 
battle  of  Waterloo."— ProBuience  Transcript. 

"  The  book  is  splendidly  written.  A  seeming  effort  at  fine  writing  haa 
been  considered,  by  many,  a  fault  of  Mr.  Headley's  style.  We  think 
such  do  not  take  sufficiently  into  consideration  the  subjects  upon  which 
be  writes.  That  style  of  writing  is  always  the  best,  that  enables  the 
reader  to  see  most  clearly  what  passes  in  "the  mind  of  the  writer,  which 
eerve'*  to  transfer  to  the  mental  canvass  of  the  reader,  tne  eract  image 
of  th«  picture  upon  the  writer's  mind.  If  this  is  any  test  of  good  wri- 
ting, no  one  who  reads  the  work  before  us.  will  for  a  moment  doubt  that 
it  is  well  written.  Aside  from  the  sketch  of  the  character  of  Napoleon, 
the  work  is  made  up  of  comparative  short  sketches  of  Napoleon's  Mar- 
shals. Of  course,  a  great  part  of  it  must,  of  necessity,  be  a  de.scrip(ion 
of  the  movements  of  armies,  either  in  the  bloody  splendors  of  the  field 
of  death,  or  in  marches/roOT  one  such  field  to  another.  His  laugniage  in 
these  descriptions  is  always  graphic,  frequently  brilliant  and  dazzling, 
and  sometimes  even  gorgeous,  but  perhaps  none  too  much  so  to  impress 
with  vividness  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader,  the  scenes  he  describes. 
"What  other  language  could  be  properly  used,  in  picturing  the  history 
of  Napoleon  and  his  INIarshals  ?  But  the  renliti/  of  the  scenes  described, 
will  not  only  be  vividly  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader,  but  it 
will  be  written  there  with  a  pen  of  iron— thei/  cannot  be  forgotten." — 
Ell/ria  Courier. 

"  The  character  of  Napoleon  is  not  understood,  nor  his  virtues  acknow- 
ledged, from  the  fact  that  his  name  has  been  presented  in  almost  every 
family  and  school  to  illustrate  the  ill  effects  of  ambition.  The  enemies 
of  this  great  man  have  invariably  misrepresented  him,  and  the  pages  of 
Engli.sh  history  have  abounded  with  so  many  denunciations  of  his  career 
that  the  youth  of  our  country  could  not  avoid  receiving  erroneous  im- 
pre.ssions  in  regard  to  his  achievements,  the  motives  which  impelled  him 
to  action,  and  the  exigencies  into  which  he  was  placed. 

"  Mr.  Headley  has  wisely  studied  the  character  of  Bonaparte,  t^e  spirit 
of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  great  destiny  to  be  wrought  out, 
by  the  thrilling  incidents  of  his  life,  and  has  illustrated  each  by  a  faitt- 
ful  biography  of  the  Marshals  who  were  participators  in  these  memorable 
scenes.— We  are  fully  impressed  with  the  correctness  of  the  positions  as- 
sumed, and  join  with  all  who  have  read  these  volumes  in  expressing  our 
admiration  of  the  graphic  and  entertaining  style  in  which  the  author  has 
presented  his  opinions,  and  described  events  of  the  most  interesting 
character. 

"  No  Library  can  be  considered  complete  without  a  copy  of  Napoleon 
and  his  Marshals."—  Teachers  Advocate,  Syracuse. 

"  Jlr.  Headley  is  truly  eloquent  in  his  description  of  character.  He 
presents  to  you  the  strong  points  of  the  man  with  a  clearness  that 
seems  to  place  him  before  you  as  an  old  acquaintance.  But  he  excels 
most  In  his  description  of  the  battle-field,  and  it  is  this  that  has  subjected 
the  Reverend  gentleman  to  much  criticism.  But  could  he  otherwise 
give  you  a  proper  idea  of  the  characters  of  which  he  writes?  To  know- 
McDonald  we  must  see  him  as  he  stands  at  the  head  of  his  columns  at 
Wagram.  To  know  Davoust,  go  with  him  to  the  field  of  Auerstadt,  and 
follow  him  amid  the  horrors  of  the  retreat  from  Russia.  It  was  amid 
blood  and  carnage  that  these  men  lived,  and  it  is  only  by  seeing  them 
there  that  we  can  get  a  correct  idea  of  their  character. 

"  We  like  Mr.  Headley's  book,  for  it  gives  us  portraits  of  great  men 


W'e  msy  read  them,  and  imitate  fhat  which  is  gnod  and  reject  tliat  w^ieti 

is  nut  worthy  uf  imitatiuu." — Cleveland  Herald. 

"  Mr.  Headley  has  led  us  away  captive  by  his  descriptions  of  these 
brave  men.  It  is  almost  the  best  written  book  that  ever  came  iiito  our 
hands,  and  must  stamp  its  author  as  one  of  the  best  writers  o:'  our 
eountry.'' — Miulisun  AdvocutC;  ]Visc07i shi. 

■'  A  more  interesting  book  cannot  be  found  in  the  language,  than 
'  Nayxjleon  and  his  Marshals."  A\i  Jlmerkaii  history  of  Bonuparte — of 
the  mighty  spirits  he  gathered  around  him — and  of  the  wars  be  earrieii 
»n,  cannot  fail  of  enlisting  the  attention  of  the  American  reader." — 
La  Fayelte  Courier,  Indiana. 

"  The  author  has  treated  his  splendid  subject  most  felicitously,  his 
eloquent  pages  shed  new  lustre  upon  the  i-eputation  of  the  'child  of 
destiny  '  and  his  brave  lieutenants,  while  his  estimates  of  character  will 
be  cordially  aiiproved  by  the  masses  everywhere.  He  has  won  a  high 
place  among  American  writers,  and  we  trust  he  will  not  be  content  to 
rest  upon  his  laurels." — Detroit  fYee  Press. 

"  Mr.  Headley  has  great  descriptive  talent,  as  this  work  thoroughly  at- 
tests. The  characters  of  the  Great  Captain  and  his  aids  are  drawn  by 
just  enough  strokes  of  the  pen,  with  great  clearness  and  vigor.  In  a 
gallery  of  milit^ary  portraits  there  must  be  a  similarity  which  will  seem 
like  sameness  in  the  narratives,  as  even  the  Iliad  will  attest,  and  this 
work  does  not  escape  it ;  but  we  know  no  living  man  who  could  have 
done  better.  We  doubt  that  either  Thiers  or  Alison  could  have  given 
better  sketehes  of  these  heroes  in  like  space." — New  York   Tribune. 

"  Mr.  Headley  may  be  emphatically  termed  a  brilliant  writer.  His 
description  of  the  fierce  and  romantic  fights  of  the  lieutenants  of  Na- 
poleon knows  no  bounds.  We  take  in  through  the  eye  the  scenes  of 
conflict  themselves.  We  see  the  charge  of  IVlacdonald  at  Wagrara,  of 
Davoust  at  Auerstadt,  and  Lannes  at  Aspern.  We  behold,  as  it  were, 
the  death  of  Desaix  in  the  moment  of  victory,  Augereau  on  the  heights 
of  Castiglione,  and  Soulc  on  the  bills  of  Pratzen.  The  only  thing  we 
find  fault  with  Mr.  Headley  for,  is  the  over-brilliancy  of  his  descriptions; 
they  are  sometimes  too  dazzling.  Yet  with  the  majority  of  readers  this 
will  be  no  fiiult,  but  rather  an  attraction.  He  is  an  ardent  admirer  of 
Napoleon,  worshipping  him  with  almost  a  poetical  fervor,  and  had  he 
been  a  follower  of  the  'great  soldier'  in  the  days  of  his  glory,  he  would 
have  loved  him  with  adoration.  Mr.  Headley  has  evidently  studied  Na- 
poleon's chief  soldiers,  and  like  Livy,  the  Roman  historian,  he  takes  the 
privilege  of  putting  words  into  the  mouths  of  the  men  whose  deeds  he 
records,  in  most  cases  on  the  field  of  battle.  W'c  do  not  find  fault  with 
this,  on  the  contrary,  but  few  historians  know  how  to  do  the  thing  so 
well,  and  yet  preserve  the  probability." — The  Island  City. 

"  Napoleon  has  been  the  theme  of  the  ablest  pens  of  both  continents, 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  but  this  is  the  first  work  that  has 
met  our  observation,  id  which,  if  we  may  so  speak,  Napoleon  has  been 
thoroughly  Americanized.  Mr.  Headley  has  written  the  work  with  true 
American  feelings  and  principles.  He  gives  Napoleon  his  true  position, 
as  fighting  the  great  battle  of  the  People  .against  Legitinjacy. 

\Ve  recommend  these  volumes,  especially  to  all  who  have  youth  under 
their  charge.  It  will  do  more  than  any  work  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
to  incite  a  love  for  historical  investigation;  while  it  will  furnish  thera 
with  a  key  to  a  praper  understanding  of  European  history,  for  the 
nineteenth  ceyitury."—  Onondaga  Democrat,  Syracuse. 

'■  No  work  has  been  issued  from  the  press,  for  several  years  past,  that 
has  been  received  with  such  general  approbation  and  success.  As  a  proof 
tif  its  popularity  it  is  only  necessary  to  8tu,t«  the  fa/Jt  that  in  tlia  eho^i 


f^arn  of  prr  montlip  it  lias  nmlfrfr'^ne  ns  niiny  fdilionn;  ami  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  continued  deniund,  it  is  likely  to  i;o  tlirouKh  a»  uimiy 
more.  Mr.  I leadley  possesses  a  thrilling  power  of  descrii)tion,  and  al- 
though, in  giving  the  history  of  the  several  I\lar.^ha'Ls,  he  has  neie.ssariiy 
to  go  over  the  same  battles  frequently,  the  interest  of  the  reader  nerer 
flags;  but  is  sustained  by  the  ever  varying  genius  of  the  Author." — 
Columbia  a.C.  Clironide. 

"  This  is  a  work  of  two  Tolumes.  They  comprise  biog^raphical 
fiketches  of  Napoleon  and  twenty-three  of  his  Marshals;,  and  are  adorned 
with  twelve  engravings  of  the  great  conqueror  and  the  more  distin- 
guishei  of  his  associates  in  arms. 

"  To  Mr.  Headley  must  be  awarded  the  merit  of  having  concentrated, 
almost  Within  a  single  glance,  the  striking  peculiarities  of  these  distin- 
guished men.  He  has  given  sketches  3f  the  lives  of  the  grand  Marshals 
of  the  French  Empire,  together  with  descriptions  of  the  principal  actions 
in  which  they  were  engaged.  The  bold  and  vigorous  style  of  Mr.  Head- 
ley,  as  a  writer,  render  his  accounts  of  these  military  encounters  particu- 
larly attractive.  The  reader  almost  imagines  himself  upon  the  battle 
field  amid  the  clash  of  charging  columns  and  the  roar  of  artillery.  He 
pictures  with  vividness  the  hero,  whose  life  he  is  sketching.  We  can  sea 
him  as  he  marches  to  the  attack.  Cool  and  collected,  he  dashes  upon 
the  enemy,  wheels  his  repulsed  b.attalions,  re-forms  his  broken  columns, 
and  with  all  the  calmness  of  a  holiday  parade,  holds  his  falling  masses, 
by  the  mor.il  power  of  hi.?  own  courage,  firmly,  amid  the  most  galling  fire. 
In  descriptions  of  this  kind  Mr.  H.  excells.  He  throws  around  Lis  sub- 
ject a  thrilling  interest." — Nortluimpton  Daily  Gazette. 

"  The  sketch  of  Napoleon  with  which  Mr.  Headley's  book  opens,  is  vi- 
gorous and  spirited,  and  remarkable,  in  contradistinction  to  the  writings 
of  the  Scott  and  Alison  school,  for  the  broad  aul  liberal  view  t.aken  of 
the  illustrious  subject.  Napoleon  is  not  measured  by  the  petty  grievan- 
ces of  England,  but  by  the  true  historical  standard  of  his  rise  and  ad- 
vancement as  a  uecessary  developement  of  the  French  nation.  This 
simple  view  of  his  po.sitiou  and  character  has  been  carefully  set  aside  by 
English  prejudices,  which  have,  as  Mr.  Headlej' remarks,  infected  Ameri- 
can literary  opinion  to  an  extent  to  which  it  is  hardly  possible  for  the 
readers  of  the  present  day  to  be  conscious.  It  is  singular  how  many  ap- 
parent incongruities,  raised  by  English  writers,  are  at  once  solved  by  a 
philosophical  estimate  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  French  Revolution. 
The  wickedness  for  wickedness'  sake,  of  which  Burke  makes  so  fine  a  re- 
torical  use,  is  seen  for  the  honor  of  human  nature  to  take  quite  a  dilTer- 
cnt  shape  in  the  form  of  a  maddened  and  infuriated  patriotism — but; 
patriotism  still. 

"  We  know  of  no  sketch  of  Napoleon  where  so  much  matter  is  put  into 
BO  small  a  space  as  in  this  introductory  paper  by  l\Ir.  Headley.  It  is 
ingenious,  straight-forward,  and  entirely  free  from  that  biographical 
rubbish  to  which  Carlyle  has  shown  a  distaste.  The  sketches  of  the 
Marshals  are  always  animated.  We  perceive  that  some  of  the  papers 
are  complaining  of  I\Ir.  Headley's  adding  to  the  false  excitement  of 
war.  To  this  charge  he  is  hanlly  lialile.  There  is  no  special  jilea  for 
war  that  we  have  noticc<l  in  the  whole  book.  His  guilt,  if  any,  is  that 
he  has  made  his  hook  interesting.  When  that  dull  affair  in  the  Family 
Librarii,  the  '  Court  and  Camp  of  Bonaparte,'  was  jiublished,  no  one 
complained  of  its  exciting  a  false  love  of  military  glory.  It  was  dry  and 
— innocent.  Now  there  is  a  cant  against  war  as  there  was  once  for  it. 
Mr.  Headley  has  only  done  his  duty  in  telling  his  story  as  well  as  he 
can.  If  soldiers  are  to  be  jiiit  down  in  bterature,  it  i.=  true  it  is  good 
policy  to  let  none  but  dull  felhms  write  abr)ut  them,  anil  i\Ir.  Headley  is 
in  many  respects — chiefly  by  virtue  of  his  eager  narrative  and  natural 
love  of  (Xiitt'iiient— the  very  last  man  to  whom  they  should  have  been 
entrusted.'' — Murairg  News. 


WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  GENERALS. 

By,  J.  T.  Headley,  author  of  "  Napoleon  and  his  Marshals," 

"  The  Sacred  Mountains,"  &c.    In  two  volumes.     13mo. 

pp.  348. 

"We  ha.T^read  it  with  an  unwonted  dejjree  of  pleasure  and  admira- 
tion. Many  people  complain  that  American  history  lacks  romance;  that 
it  has  in  it  nothing  stirring  or  striking  ;  and  is.  therefore,  dull  and  spirit- 
less, beside  the  annals  of  Europe.  Mr.  Headley  has  given  to  this 
objection  the  most  thorough  and  conclusive  refutation  it  could  possibly 
receive;  and  itiis  not  likely  to  be  heard  again.  He  ha,s  given  to  the 
incideiUs  of  our  Revolution,  by  his  graphic,  and  spirited  descriptions,  an 
intensity  of  interest  not  surpassed  in  the  grandest  acUievments  of  Na- 
poleon's troops.  Instead  of  giving  simply  the  naked  details  of  what  was 
done,  like  most  of  those  who  have  written  upon  the  same  subject,  he 
has  breathed  into  them  the  breath  of  life  ; — he  brings  his  reader  into  the 
immediate  presence  of  the  act  he  describes  ; — his  words  have  a  burning, 
rushing  power;  and  you  can  no  more  doubt  the  reality  of  his  pictures, 
than  you  could  hava  doubted  the  reality  of  the  original  -sceues,  had  you 
been  in  the  midst  of  them." — Courier  and  Inquirer. 

"  Unlike  all  the  histories  of  the  American  Revolution,  which  aim  to 
give  the  causes  and  the  results  of  the  war,  Mr.  Headley  presents  the 
eventful  part  of  that  Revolution,  and  describes  the  scenes  which  trans- 
pired seventy  years  ago  with  such  nervous  precision  and  accurate  detail, 
that  the  reader  fancies  himself  on  the  spots  where  the  princip.al  battles 
occurred,  and  feels  that  he  is  living  in  ''  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls." 
No  author  ever  possessed  the  power  to  present  a  battle,  or  any  other 
scene,  in  the  glowing  life-like  descriptions  of  Headley." — Christian 
Secretary. 

"  We  are  much  pleased  with  this  book,  and  question  whether  any  offer- 
ing could  be  more  acceptable  to  the  American  reader.  Washington  sur- 
rounded by  his  heroic  band  of  Generals,  and  all  moving  amid  the  great 
events  of  the  American  Revolution,  is  the  grandest  spectacle  in  history; 
and  the  masterly  pen  of  Headley  has  succeeded  to  .admir.ation  in  present- 
ing it  in  all  its  own  intensiiy  of  interest. — ■'  Washington  and  his  Gene- 
rals," like  "  N.apoleon  and  his  Marshals,''  seems  to  us  more  like  a  master 
piece  of  painting,  than  a  mere  work  of  letters,  so  matchless  are  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  most  exciting  scenes,  so  perfect  are  the  delineations  of 
character." — Daily  Herald. 

"  There  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the  secret  of  the  great  popu- 
larity which  the  writings  of  Mr.  Headley  have  so  rapidly  obtained.  He 
speaks  heartily,  earnestly,  truthfully,  and  the  warm  heart  answers  to 
his  voice.  In  his  Washington  he  has  exceeded  himself,  producing  a 
noble  portrait  of  the  noblest  man  :  and  weaving  such  a  garland  as  jiatri- 
otism  and  reverence  love  to  place  on  the  brow  of  the  Father  of  hi.?  Coun- 
try."-^iV.  Y.  Observer 

"Every  page  has  some  graphic  picture  of  the  stiring  scenes  in  which 
Washington  and  his  Generals  were  actors.  The  char.acteristios  of  these 
valiant  champions — their  stern  patriotism — their  noble  sacrifices,  and 
their  indomitable  energy  and  courage — are  portr.ayed  with  great  beauty, 
and  present  the  men  and  their  times  to  thr;  render  with  more  than  pic- 
torial strength  and  clearness." — .^Ibani/  Everiing  Journal. 

"Though  we  are  necessarily  familiar  with  much  of  the  historical  mat- 
ter comprised  in  Mr.  Headley's  book,  yet  his  admirable  style  of  narra- 


tire,  and  vivid  colorinjf  of  thB  mnre  stirrihp:  scenes  invest  these  memoirs 
with  a  pmuliar  interest,  ami  j;ive  tliein  a  fresliiiess  that  is  very  accepta- 
ble. Familiar  ;us  we  were,  witti  the  battle  nf  Hunker  Hill,  we  yet 
derived  a  more  vivid  coneeptiou  uf  it  from  Mr.  Headley's  graphic  jien, 
than  we  ever  before  reslized,  and  this  i.s  only  one  among  many  occa- 
sions in  the  pcru-al  of  his  work,  where  we  felt  the  powerful,  and  we  may 
say,  re.si.siless  intiuence  of  his  exciting  eloquence." —  The  Courier. 

'•We  might  particularize  instances  which  have  thrilled  u.^  in  the 
perusal;  but  they  are  sc.xttered  over  the  volumes.  Mr.  Headley  haa 
undertaken  a  difficult  work,  in  the  production  of  the.^e  sketches.  It  is  a 
work  only  of  an  artist — a  genius  ;  and  to  be  accomplished  only  by  labo- 
rious, tedious  investigation." —  Tfic  Ohio  Obser-ver. 

No  writer  has  delineated  the  thrilling  scenes  and  events  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary strugijle  with  such  graphic  power.  He  places  one  as  it  were 
upon  the  vejy  theatre  of  action  and  bloody  confiict ;  the  surrounding 
incidents,  under  the  influence  of  his  magic  pen.  assuming  the  reality  of 
visil)le  ol)jecrs.  and  impressing  themselves  upon  the  mind  with  the 
vividness  of  personal  observation.  This  work  tills  a  place  in  American 
Literature  occupied  by  no  other.  Tt  is  iui  generis.  And  we  know  of 
none  so  likely  to  beget  in  the  youthful  mind  a  keen  and  purmrinent  relish 
for  the  history  of  his  country,  as  this." — Onondago  Deiiiocrat. 

"These  sketches,  or  whatever  they  may  be  called,  are  certainly  snr- 
prisinj^  productions.  We  are  all  of  us  more  or  less  familiar  with  the 
heroes  and  the  battles  of  the  Revolution.  History  and  the  faltering 
tongups  of  the  few  decayed  survivors  of  tho.se  trying  times,  have  fought; 
over  and  over  our  battles  for  liberty.— They  have  all  been  carefully, 
minutely  and  accurately  described  by  the  most  veritable  historians  of 
the  times.  Those  thrilling  scenes  in  which  our  fathers  suffered  and 
died,  that  we  might  live,  have  been  p.ainted  in  all  their  lights  and  shades ; 
but  they  wanted  a  master's  hand  to  fini.sh  them.  Headley  has  brought 
down  fire  from  heaven,  and.given  life  to  the  whole.  We  had  all  the  fea- 
tures before,  but  comparatively  lifeless.  Headley  has  given  them  ani- 
mation and  soul,  and  the  work  now  under  consideration  is  equal  in  point 
of  interest  to  any  other  relating  to  the  great  moral,  civil  and  political 
Revolution  of  1776." — Saratoga  RepublicaJi. 

"  We  welcome  Mr.  Headly  to  American  ground,  and  to  a  work  for 
which  he  of  all  our  writers  is  best  litted — the  presentation  of  the  im- 
mortal achievements  of  our  revolution — as  they  present  themselves  to 
the  popular  heart,  and  not  to  the  dry  historian  in  his  search  for  details. 
The  various  published  lives  of  the  generals  of  '76,  though  carefully 
written  and  filled  with  interesting  facts,  have,  we  venture  to  say,  im- 
pressed themselves  but  little  on  the  national  mind,  and  been  compara- 
tively litile  read— th's  because  the  writer  did  not  become  fired  with  the 
heat  of  the  times  they  wrote  of,  and  thus  by  their  imagination  reproduce 
the  feeling  and  recall  the  tone  of  the  great  struggle  for  freedom  and 
independenoe.  Yet  it  is  morally  important  that  such  a  work  should  ba 
written— because  thereby  the  sjiirit  of  the  great  founders  of  our  nation 
may  be  made  part  of  our  spirit,  and  pass  into  our  national  life  and  cha- 
racter. Mr.  Headley  has,  we  think,  done  this  most  successfully,  and 
we  have  read  his  sketches— as  he  modestly  terms  them  in  his  preface, 
with  strong  interest  and  satisfaction.  We  should,  however,  come  short 
of  doing  him  justice,  if  we  should  not  refer  to  a  difficulty  he  has  had  to 
contend  with,  and  which  he  mentions— the  barrenness  of  personal  inci- 
dents in  the  Jiccounts  of  the  battles— (jwing  probably  to  the  want  of  a 
newspaper  press  in  those  times,  and  aLso  to  the  di-inity  of  manner  and 
language  that  then  prevailed  which  did  not  enoourage  a  familiar  know- 
ledgo  of  public  chaxacters."— Cm.  Iiujulrer. 


HEADLEY'S  SACRED  MOUNTAINS. 

The  Sacred  Mountains  by  J.  T.  Headley,  author  of  Nap(> 
leon  and  His  Marshals,  &c.  1  Vol.  8vo. ;  illustrated 
With  1 1  elegant  steel  engravings  of  the  Mountains  of  the 
Holy  Land  by  Burt,  and  13  beautiful  designs  by  Lossing. 

"  The  work  consists  of  a  description  of  the  several  mountains  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  and  of  the  wonderful  scenes  that  have  been  exhibited 
apon  them.  Ararat,  Moria,  Sinai,  Hor,  Pisgah,  Horeb,  Carmel,  Leba- 
non, Zion,  Tabor,  Olivet,  Calvary,  and  the  Mount  of  God,  are  made  suc- 
cessively to  rise  up  before  the  eye  of  the  mind,  invested  with  all  that  su- 
perlative interest  which  they  gather  from  having  been  the  theatre  of  th« 
most  wonderful  exhibitions  of  divine  power,  wisdom  and  goodness. 

"  As  we  have  gime  throuj^h  the  work,  we  confess  that  we  have  felt  that 
the  author's  power  of  imagination  was  well  nigh  unparalled.  Here  he 
moves  in  the  fury  of  the  tempest,  and  there  ujion  the  breathing  zephyr : 
here  he  paints  terror  and  blood  till  one's  own  blood  actually  curdles,  and 
there  illumines  his  pase  with  some  beautiful  picture  which  put  in  requi- 
sition all  the  brightest  hues  of  the  rainbow.  The  book,  so  far  as  wc 
know,  is  entirely  unique  in  its  character.  It  addresses  itself  to  the  best 
feelings  of  the  Christian's  heart,  chietiy  through  the  medium  of  the  im- 
magination.  Thousands  will  read  it  with  delight,  and  will  ever  after- 
Wards  contemplate  the  scenes  which  it  describes  with  an  interest  which 
they  never  felt  before." — Alt/any  Herald. 

"  Those  who  have  read  Napoleon  and  his  Marshals,  will  find  here  a 
book  marked  by  the  same  impetuous,  glowing  style,  but  on  subjects 
more  agreeable  to  a  religious  taste.  We  are  much  gratified  ourselves  to 
possess  the  volume,  and  we  commend  it  to  our  readers  as  a  charm- 
ihg  gift-book,  and  a  useful  companion  for  quiet  hours." — NeM  York 
Recorder. 

" '  The  Sacred  Mountains '  is  the  title  of  a  very  ele^nt  volume  just 
publishad  by  Baker  and  Soribner.  It  is  written  by  J.  T.  Hbadley, 
Whose  various  volumes,  though  recently  published,  have  made  him  one 
of  the  most  popular  living  writers  in  the  country.  It  contains  descrip- 
tive and  historical  sketches  of  all  the  mountains  rendered  memorable  by 
having  been  made  the  scenes  of  great  events  recorded  in  Scripture.  Its 
design,  as  the  author  savs,  is  '  to  render  more  familiar  and  life-like 
Bome  of  the  scenes  of  the  Bible'  The  sketches  are  written  in  the  same 
rigorous  and  brilliant  style  which  has  mainly  given  to  Hk/idley's 
volumes  thtir  wide  popularity,  and  present  more  impressive  and  attrac- 
tive views  of  these  scenes  and  the  events  connected  with  them,  than  we 
have  ever  seen  elsewhere.  They  will  be  eagerly  read  by  all  classes  of 
persons." — N.  Y.  Courier  and  £nquirer. 

"  The  subject, '  The  Sacred  Mountains,'  is  in  itself  a  grand  and  sublime 
theme  ;  and  the  brilliant  and  distinguished  abilities  of  the  author,  rennet 
the  work  one  of  rare%st  merit.  Headly  writes  as  no  other  man  ever  has 
written.  His  style  is  peculiar;  his  own,  and  inimitable.  He  employs 
his  pen  only  on  subjects  of  the  loftiest  grandeur  and  sublimity  ;  and  his 
pcnvers  of  description  are  such,  that  he  awakens  and  carries  with  him 
every  sentiment,  passion,  and  feeling  of  his  reader. 

'■'  Whoever  has  read  '  Napoleon  and  his  Marshals,'  can  never  forget 
'  M'Doneld's  charge  at  Wagram,'  or  '  Ney's  charge  at  Waterloo,'  so  life* 
like  and  rivid  are  his  descriptions  of  these  terrible  battles.  But  Headley 
In  his  description  of  the  Sacred  Mountains  of  Scripture  where  God  in  aw- 
ful majesty  displayed  himself  to  man,  has  more  than  sustained  his  repu- 
tation as  the  most  eloquent  and  sublime  writer  of  hie  age."— Cieuriawi 
Plain  DeaUr. 


"  The  Sacred  Mountains,  those  places  conflecratcd  to  every  Christlafi 
heart  liy  occurrences  of  the  most  solemn  interest,  afford  most  appropriate 
Bubjeots  for  Mr.  Heudley's  vivid  powers.  He  sees  them  as  they  appear- 
ed wheu  they  were  hallowed  by  the  j)resence  of  the  prophets  and  the 
apostles  of  old.  His  feelings  are  devout,  and  he  is  not  only  a  pilgrim 
Tisitiug  sacred  spots,  but  a  Christian  whose  heart  keenly  appreciatea 
every  event  which  clothed  them  with  interest  in  long  past  centuries. 
The  mechanical  execution  of  the  book  is  in  keeping  with  its  subjects 
and  the  power  exhibited  by  the  author  in  portraying  them." — Louisville 
Journal. 

"  This  is  indeed  a  beautiful  book.  It  is,  we  should  judge,  one  of  the 
gifted  author's  happiest  efforts,  as  it  certainly  is  one  of  the  most  novel. 
Blost  literary  gentlemen  ran.^ack  old  tales  and  old  ballads  for  themea 
and  suggestions  for  tlieir  literary  effort.s;  but  Mr.  H.  has  gone  to  the 
Scripiures,  and  has  given  us  a  series  of  lacred  pictvres.  The  author  is 
an  artist.  With  brush  in  hand,  he  goes  from  scene  to  scene,  and  deline- 
ates with  a  truthful  touch,  many  of  the  most  thrilling  incidents  of  Scrip- 
ture history. 

"  The  beauty  and  power  of  Mr.  Headley's  writing  is  in  its  remarkable 
vivacity.  Evey  page  is  alive  with  interest.  Ho  makes  every  scene,  as 
many  do  not  who  handle  sacred  things,  one  of  present  reality." — Nor- 
wich Courier. 

Mr.  Headley  is  well  known  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  our  writers, 
and  this  volume  will  amply  sustain  and  extend  his  rcimtation.  His  de- 
Beriptions  of  the  "Sacred  MounUiius"  are  very  graphic  and  beautiful, 
condensing  within  brief  compass  a  great  deal  of  information,  conveyed 
through  the  medium  of  a  highly  ornate,  polished  and  vigorous  style.  It 
vill  be  welcome  in  every  family  where  the  Bible  is  read  and  studied. 
The  illustrations  are  finished  engravings  of  Mount  Ararat,  Moria,  Sinai, 
Hor,  Pisgah,  Carmel,  Lebanon,  Zion,  Tabor,  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  ex- 
ecuted by  Burt,  from  paintings  by  Turner,  Calcot,  Harding,  Bartlett 
and  others." — Protestant  ClLurchnian. 

"  This  work  is  alike  worthy  of  public  favor,  whether  we  consider  the 
fiiibjcct  to  which  it  relates  or  the  manner  in  which  it  is  executed.  The 
subject  is  novel  and  striking,  connecting  itself  with  the  Christian's  most 
sublime  and  hallowed  associations.  The  execution  is  altogether  admi- 
rable—every page  bears  the  impress  of  a  most  lofty  and  powerful  imma- 
gination,  a  highly  cultivated  taste  and  spirit  of  deep  and  earnest  devo- 
tion. The  author  conducts  hia  readers,  as  by  an  angel's  hand,  through 
the  most  awful  and  glorious  scenes  whieh  the  world  has  ever  witnessed ; 
and  so  strong  is  the  light  in  which  everything  is  presented,  that  one 
eeems  to  be  in  communion  with  the  actual  reality,  rather  than  contem- 
plate the  mere  description.  It  is  altogether  a  most  extraordinary  book, 
and  we  -"enture  to  predict  that  it  will  not  only  travel  far  but  live  long.'' 
—Albantj  Herald. 

"  A  pleasanter,  more  profitable,  more  graceful  and  beautiful  gift-book 
than  this,  it  will  be  hard  to  find,  among  all  the  productions  of  the  season. 
The  sacred  sketches  it  contains  are  written  in  i\Ir.  Headley's  well-known 
glowing  and  energetic  style,  with  piotures  of  scenery,  and  accomp.anying 
thoughts  and  feelings,  through  which  many  a  reader  has  followed  the 
author  with  deep  interest.  Ararat,  Moriah,  Sinai,  Hor,  Pisgah,  Horeb, 
Carmel,  Lebanon,  Zion,  Tabor,  Mount  of  Olives,  Mount  Calvary,  the 
Mount  of  God !  What  thoughts  and  associations  of  sacred  solemnity 
and  grandeur  cluster  around  such  an  array  of  objects  !  It  was  a  most 
happy  idea,  that  of  grouping  these  mountains,  and  taking  the  reader  over 
them,  to  gaze  botli  at  the  material  and  moral  scenery."— .AT.  Y.  Exari' 
gelist. 


''Mr.  Headley's  ciiaraoteristlca  as  aTfricor  are  so  troll  kno'ini  and 
favorably  appreciated,  that  wo  need  not  beapeak  public  attemion  to 
Anything  from  his  pen.  There  is  about  the  present  volume,  however, 
an  unusual  charm,  a  peculiar  atti-activeness,  especially  to  the  serious, 
meditative  reader,  which  will  secure  for  it  ample  audieuoe  and  lasting 
popularity.  The  moral  tone  is  elevated  and  sustained  throughout,  the 
coloring  vivid  and  life-like,  and  the  entire  impression  upon  the  reader's 
heart,  not  unlike  what  would  be  produced  by  an  actu.al  pilgrimage 
among  the  scenes  it  describes.  The  artistical  accessories  are  in  the 
most  finished  style  of  modern  e:!cel!ence.  The  engravings,  eleven  in 
Immber,  are  by  Bukt." — Ckristiaii  Parlor  Mazuzine. 

"  The  design  in  them  all  is  to  render  more  familiar  and  life-like  somo 
of  the  scenes  of  the  Bible.  They  are  exceedingly  interesting  and  beau- 
tiful. By  filling  up  from  personal  ob.?ervatiiiii  the  outlines  ju-esented  in 
the  Bible,  the  .author  accomplishes  the  double  task  of  familiarizing  the 
mind  with  the  [ilace  of  the  occurrence,  and  of  giving  to  the  event  a 
vitality  th.at  greatly  enhances  its  interest.  The  work  is  illustrated  with 
ftleven  beautiful  engravings,  l.iy  Buft,  from  paintings  of  (Jaloot,  Turner, 
Harding,  Bartlett  and  Bolmar." — C/uisliun  Intelligencer. 

"As  a  descriptive  writer,  Mr.  Headley  is  surpassingly  gifted,  as  the 
pages  of  his  popular  work  on  'Napoleon  and  his  Marshals' abundantly 
testify,  and  in  his  sketches  of  the  Sacn  d  Mountains — the  theatres  of 
some  of  the  most  thrilling  scenes  in  the  world's  history— his  enthusi.asni 
pictures  them  to  the  mind's  eycM'ith  an  intense  and  vivid  power,  that 
kindles  to  sublimity.  The  book  before  vis  comprises  thirteen  of  these 
descriptions,  and  is  embellished  with  eleven  splendid  steel  engravings 
of  the  mountains,  which  add  greatly  tu  its  interest  and  value." — Spring- 
field Gazette. 

"  The  volume  is  composed  of  a  number  of  essays  on  the  prineipa? 
mountains  which  figure  in  biblical  hi.itory.  They  are  elegantly  written, 
and  distinguished  for  a  h.appy  blending  together  of  facts  and  the  im- 
agining of  a  mind  attuned  to  all  that  is  true  and  beautitiil  in  the  works 
of  nature  and  the  human  heart.  We  feel  thankful  towards  Mr.  Headley 
fir  his  iateresting  comments  upon  the  Sacred  Mountains,  and  assure 
our  readers  that  a  perusal  of  them  will  inijjrove  the  mind  and  reform 
the  feelings  of  the  heart." — N.   Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  The  theme  of  this  volume  is  exceedingly  well  calculated  to  bring 
out  Mr  Heaiiiey's  great  powers  of  rapid  picturesque  narration,  colored 
all  over  by  the  gorg  'ous  glow  of  a  vivid  and  fertile  imagination.  Tho 
eacred  mountains  of  Ararat,  Sinai,  Hor,  Pisgah,  Olives,  Zion,  Tabor, 
etc.,  have  been  the  scenes  of  such  grand  and  .awful  events,  and  are  so 
associated  with  all  that  is  most  momentous  in  the  World's  history  or  the 
destiny  of  man,  that  even  the  coldest  nature  almost  would  feel  some- 
thing of  inspiration  in  commemorating  them.  Few  could  do  this  so  well  as 
Mr.  Headley.  With  warm  religious  feeling  he  unites  an  ardent,  im- 
petous  character,  and  the  stylo  and  mode  of  treating  his  subject,  that 
*ould  seem  rather  exaggerated  ^vith  other  themes,  applied  to  this  seem 
fitting  and  becoming." — Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  The  reader  as  he  peruses  these  sketches  almost  im.agines  himself 
transported  to  the  sacred  sjiots  where,  tho'isands  of  years  ai;o,  the 
ecenes  transpired,  and  fancies  he  can  hear  the  thundcrings  and  light- 
nings of  Mount  Sinai  while  Moses  was  receiving  the  Tables  of  the  Law. 
or,  standing  with  him  upon  Mount  Pisgah,  he  sees  in  tho  distance  the 
land  that  flowed  with  milk  and  honey." — Christian  Secretary^ 
Hartford. 

"The  aithor  has  given  a  glowing  description  ot  thirteen  of  tho.so 
taoontainj  celebrated  in  Scripture  higtory,  and  of  the  memorable  events 


^Ich  make  them  objects  of  deep  Mid  general  lnt«re8l  to  the  whol* 
human  family.  The  Buul-stirring  diction  and  splendid  imagery  peculiar 
to  the  writinifS  of  Mr.  Headley,  inTest  these  themes  with  many  new 
oharms,  and  canaot  fail  to  awaken  the  most  pleasurable  emotions  in  the 
mind  of  the  reader. 

"  The  work  is  embeUished,  not  merely  filled,  with  splendid  engravinps, 
which  are  well  calculated  to  illustrate  the  graphic  descriptiouii  uf  this 
popular  writer. —  Teaclier's  Advocate,  Syracuse. 

"  The  int«ntion  of  the  author  of  the  Sacred  Mountains  is  to  render 
more  vivid  and  life-like  the  scenes  of  the  Bible,  with  which  we  are  all 
familiar,  yet  which  we  are  ajit  to  look  upon  ua  less  natural  than  th« 
scenes  of  ev«ry-day  life.  No  one  wa.s  better  fitted  for  this  work  than 
the  author.  With  an  ea.sy,  graceful  style,  a  language  exceedingly  chaste 
and  rich,  he  portrays  to  our  imagination  the  scenes  to  which  the  Sacred 
Mountains  were  witness,  and  impresses  them  indelibly  upon  the  mind. 
—Christian  Adcocutc  and  Journal. 

"The  subjects  afford  a  fine  scope  for  the  very  graphic  descriptive 
talent  of  the  author,  who  has  never  shone  to  better  advantage — especi- 
ally in  the  sketch  entitled  Mount  Ararat.  The  last  of  the  thirteen  is 
very  beautiful,  though  brief.  It  is  entitled  the  Mount  (if  God,  and  in 
the  description  of  it  the  author  has  most  happily  gathered  up  the  great 
moral  truths  which  those  sky-pointing  peaks  symbolize,  and  to  which 
they  point  the  way. 

''  It  was  a  happy  idea  which  lead  Mr.  Headley,  to  group  together  spots 
rendered  immort:d  by  the  thrilling  and  solemn  scenes  they  have  wit- 
nessed. He  has  thu.s,  by  assuciating  his  own  genius  with  subjects  which 
must  aliouijs  be  the  objects  of  deej)  and  permanent  interest  to  the  Bible 
reader,  ensured  for  his  work  an  enduring  reputation." — N.  S.  Obheiver. 

"  Throughout  the  entire  volume,  the  writings  are  of  that  elevated 
character  which  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  subject,  and  which  gives  it  a 
value  far  above  any  work  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  come  under  our  eye. 
The  illustrations  are  beautiful,  being  accurate  drawings  from  the  moun- 
tains represented.  The  engravings  are  fourteen  in  number,  admirably 
designed  and  well  executed." — Rochester  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  This  is  truly  a  beautiful  volume,  in  which  the  printer,  engraver 
paper  maker  and  binder,  engage  in  friendly  rivalship  to  outdo  each 
other.  The  vignette,  representing  Bethlehem,  is  exquisite,  and  tha 
sacred  mountains,  Ararat,  Moriah,  Sinai,  Hor,  Pisgah,  Carniel,  Le- 
banon, Zion,  Tabor,  and  Olives,  are  beautifully  pictured  to  the  eye. 
The  descriptions  of  these  sacred  spots,  and  the  refleotious  they  awakea 
tire  poetically  rich  and  impressive,  evincing  no  small  power  in  that 
•tyle  of  writing  by  which  Mr.  Headley  haa  acquirtd  popularity."-- 
lPre*byt4riaH. 


A'*a-,'j ' 

14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


\4l  0^ 


mt 


REC'D  LD 


OCT  31  1958 


lINIiLi^    Li CtiMK'i 


OME  MONTH  AFTER  RECEIPr 


^"^    Sl97P5g^ 


KEC.GIR-^'QV 


??/79 


m 


DEC  221999 


LD  21A-50m-9,'58 
(68898l0)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


YB  29507 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


I".  il^U^i 


-lit?. 


mil  iriimr 


